The hamlet of Bérarde (Isère) has been isolated since the flooding of the Vénéon torrent on Thursday, June 20.
Many houses were buried or swept away by water.
A couple was saved at the last moment by a rescuer, as shown in images from TF1’s 8 p.m.
Follow the full coverage
WEEKENDS 8 p.m.
“We don’t quite realize it, but the images are playing in a loop”. A couple of Belgian tourists were saved at the last minute in the hamlet of La Bérarde, located in the commune of Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans (Isère) after the flood of the Vénéon torrent which cut the departmental road and destroyed houses this Thursday June 20. Rescuers were able to intervene via a helicopter. In the images filmed from the device that rescued them, a police officer manages to climb onto the roof of the house, which is almost completely buried by water.
“We heard the sounds of a helicopter, a guy came down on the roof, we heard footsteps, I said ‘there are footsteps on the roof’we said ‘yes yes, we are here, there are two of us’“, says the trapped tourist, in the TF1 8 p.m. report visible at the top of this article. “And he said to his colleague, ‘they are alive’“, adds his companion.
The worst was narrowly avoided. “The door gave way, some tiles gave way so the water was really coming in from all sides, the level kept rising, we were locked in, it was much too late to leave, the house was surrounded”remembers the couple.
“We’re here, it’s us”
By intervening in this house, Damien Fillon, brigadier head of the CRS Alpes, did not have much hope either. “It’s true that when I put the hammer down, I’m a little hopeless because there’s not much left of the house, it’s 95% buried.”, says the rescuer. “And when I stick my head through the roof, I see two heads hanging from the ceiling beams saying to me ‘we are here, it’s us’“.
The other members of the Belgian family found refuge on the roof of Stéphanie and Jean-Philippe’s inn. The latter have lost their activity but their sadness and their anger are not limited to this news. According to them, the flood could have been avoided. “If this dike broke, it’s because it was built in 1986 and since then, no one wants to maintain it. The message that needs to be sent is that the prefectures must not do not abandon these villages and these populations”, insists Jean-Philippe.
-
Read also
Gutted or buried houses: aerial images of a hamlet in Isère isolated by floods
Contacted, the Isère prefecture affirms that arrangements have been made in recent months to somehow prevent the water from overflowing.
