STORY. Disappearance of Medhi Narjissi: picnic, group of players split in 2, “we lost one”… Chronology of a terrible tragedy

It was a day like dozens of others during the summer tours of French rugby teams abroad. The U18s, led by their captain Medhi Narjissi, were in South Africa to play the International Series. This Wednesday, August 7, the young blues did not play and enjoyed a day of rest.

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Picnic around 12 noon

And as is customary, the group and the management leave to visit a part of the country, or the city, in which they are located. Thus, on August 1, Medhi Narjissi and his teammates went up to the heights surrounding Cape Town (South Africa) for a hike, as proven by photos and videos posted on social networks.

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A few days later, after playing their first match (on August 5), the Bleuets and their staff went to the Cape of Good Hope. First, a picnic was organized on a beach. “We don’t really understand how the day went,” regretted Jalil Narjissi, Medhi’s father, at a press conference on Tuesday, August 27, in Agen. “The beach where they had a picnic was very good…”

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After the meal, the group split into two

After lunch, the group headed towards the Bonne Espérance lighthouse. There, the decision was made to split the group of players into two because the passage was too narrow for all the Bleuets to visit the historic site at the same time. Throughout the day, Frédéric, a Frenchman who lives in South Africa and who is used to accompanying the various youth selections of the XV of France when they visit the country, was present, according to Jalil Narjissi.

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And while some go to the lighthouse, the other half of the group goes down to the famous Dias Beach located a few dozen meters further. “Robin Ladauge judged that the beach was suitable for a recovery and made the decision alone,” explained Medhi’s father on Tuesday.

Swimming with the physical trainer

Beyond the question of the relevance of a recovery swim after a picnic, other questions arise: why this beach? Why did none of the 8 members of the management consider this beach dangerous despite the numerous signs and warnings? In any case, the players go into the water, accompanied by their physical trainer, Robin Ladauge.

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This one is dressed in a neoprene outfit that protects against the cold and has recovered a lifebuoy on the beach, again according to the words of the family of the young missing captain. “The children are in their underwear,” Valérie Narjissi told the press. The teenagers therefore go into the water for a recovery swim under the eye of 8 members of staff.

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Manager Stéphane Campos arrives on the beach

But neither the general manager nor the doctor are present. The former is simply not aware of what his staff has decided. “A personal initiative by Robin Ladauge”, explained Stéphane Campos, the manager, in his statement to South African investigators. The doctor, Pascal Pradier, is a regular on these trips to South Africa and does not want to go down all the steps that lead to Dias Beach. “That should have been his place, he is a doctor. For me, he has no business going for a walk. He must be present on the beach”, testified the father of the missing boy.

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A few minutes after the young players entered the water, their manager arrived on the beach. “Then, Stéphane Campos took off his t-shirt to go into the water and at that moment, Robin Ladauge told the players to get out of the water. But looking into the distance, he saw that there was a problem, two silhouettes were struggling,” says Jalil Narjissi, who had access to the statements of the 3 members of the staff. Medhi’s destiny was about to change.

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“We lost one”

Stéphane Campos quickly realised the danger. “He realised there was a problem. But on the beach there was no signal to call so they had to go back up all the steps to call”, continues Jalil Narjissi. During this time, the young captain of the U18s tried to struggle in an ocean of waves that could reach up to 5 metres high. Only his teammate, Oscar Boutez, tried to go and save him. In vain. “No supervisor went there”, declared Jalil Narjissi. On the way back up, a member of staff shouted: “We’ve lost one”.

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5:59 p.m.: Florian Grill’s call to Jalil Narjissi

It was 5:59 p.m. when Medhi Narjissi’s parents, who were on vacation, learned of the horror, having left their son at the train station heading to Paris a few days earlier. “We received a phone call from the president of the Federation on August 7. A missed call. At 5:59 p.m., I called him back. He told me that there had been an accident, that Medhi (he stops, lowers his head). That’s it, everything stops. It’s hard to take that in. I asked questions, my wife also spoke to him, then I picked up the phone again,” Jalil Narjissi, very moved on Tuesday, tried to describe.