The judicial investigation was carried out until now for a worrying disappearance.
The investigation into the disappearance at sea, at the beginning of August, off the coast of South Africa, of Rugby player Medhi Narjissi, member of the French under-18 team, was reclassified as manslaughter, announced this Wednesday October 16, the Agen public prosecutor’s office.
The judicial investigation, carried out until now for worrying disappearances, will now have to “establish whether one or more blunders, one or more imprudences, one or more inattentions, one or more negligences, one or more breaches of an obligation of security or caution” may have been committed, said the prosecutor, Olivier Naboulet, in a press release.
Medhi Narjissi, 17, was swept offshore on August 7 on a beach known to be dangerous near the Cape of Good Hope, in South Africa, where he was present for an international tournament with the French U18 team. The Agen prosecutor’s office was seized at the end of August by the player’s family.
Dangerous site
The French Rugby Federation (FFR) for its part questioned, in an internal investigation report, the management of the U18s present during the gathering. “The decision to organize a recovery session in the water on Dias Beach was taken without considering the dangerousness of the site,” she said.
An administrative investigation is also underway, carried out by the General Inspectorate of Education, Sport and Research, which must deliver its conclusions “before the end of November”. Until then, the sports technical advisors of the U18 team have “been suspended as a precautionary measure” by the Ministry of Sports at the request of the FFR.
The U18 manager, for his part, filed a complaint for slanderous denunciation, his lawyer believing that the FFR tried to “pillory” him to make him take responsibility for the disappearance of the young international.
