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VIDEO: Woman swept out to sea by giant wave

Ben McPartland
Ben McPartland - [email protected]
VIDEO: Woman swept out to sea by giant wave
This is the moment the huge wave struck the rocks near Biarritz and swept two walkers out to sea. Screengrab: LCI/TF1

Rescuers in south west France continued their search on Monday for a woman who was swept out to sea by a giant wave as she walked along rocks near the town of Biarritz at the weekend. The moment the wave struck was caught on video by a witness.

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The woman, aged in her thirties was taken by surprise as she walked by rocks near the lighthouse at Biarritz, an area that is known for being dangerous and where walkers are strongly advised to avoid, Le Parisien reports.

A man was also left hospitalised after being hit by the same wave and dragged out to sea, where he survived for 20 minutes before being rescued in the nick of time.

A helicopter was brought in to search for the woman on Sunday but rescuers were unable to locate her. The search resumed on Monday.

This video captured by a witness, and shown on French TV station TF1, shows the huge waves crashing into the rocks before the pair were swept out to sea.

In the clip we can hear the amateur camerman shouting to the man shown running from the wave.

"Your friends, they are in the water," he shouts. "Call the police quickly, don't mess around."

The friend of the pair swept away looks on in apparent shock as they are swept out to into the rough seas.

One witness named Nicolas recounted what happened on Monday to BFM TV.

"We called out to them to tell them to go back. It was too dangerous. But they do not hear us with the sound of the wind and the waves. Then a big wave came and they went over the railings. "

A helicopter was brought in to search for the woman on Sunday but rescuers were unable to locate her. The search resumed on Monday.

More amateur footage of the same area was taken the previous day and shows the violence of the sea and how dangerous the was.

 

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