The video is both impressive and terrifying. Friday June 21, 2024, Damien Fillon, chief brigadier of the CRS Alpes, rescued two people trapped in a house about to be swallowed up by water in Isère. The scene, filmed from the emergency helicopter, caused a buzz on social networks, reports the HuffPost .
That day, torrential rains caused the Vénéon to flood, transforming the tributary into a veritable torrent. The river overflowed its banks and submerged the hamlet of La Bérarde, in the commune of Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans. But a couple of Belgian tourists were still inside one of the houses at the time of the flood.
A rescue at the last minute
In the Civil Security images, we see Damien Fillon being hoisted by a helicopter to the roof of the house, surrounded by water and buried under stones. “The whole house was shakingremembered the CRS, questioned by BFMTV . I realized that the river was rushing into the house. I managed to break the roof with a hammer. »
Inside, the CRS discovered the two victims, clinging to the ceiling beams and shouting to make their position known. Damien Fillon then harnessed the couple and towed them “out of this trap”. A few minutes later, the house in question completely disappeared under the waters of the Vénéon.
In total, around a hundred people were evacuated or rescued that day using four helicopters and received at the Deux Alpes ski resort. The flood almost completely destroyed the hamlet, but no casualties were reported. Since then, Brigadier Damien Fillon has been considered a true hero for this spectacular rescue.
