British man dies after yacht collision near Cannes Film Festival


The Cannes Film Festival is well known all around the world as a celebration of all the best movies and films across the globe giving out awards, prizes, showcasing film releases, and lots more. It’s usually a time of happiness and fun with the drinks flowing freely and the sun shining. However, it wasn’t all fun and games on Saturday when two yachts collided, leading to the death of a British man near the French city.

The two yachts, the Minx and the Vision. The British man, who unfortunately passed away, was a 29-year-old crew member on the Minx. The 26.5m (86 foot) yacht was completely oblivious to the incoming danger and was soon hit by the second yacht – the 27m (88ft) Vision – at about 9pm on Saturday night.

So how did it actually happen? While driving boats and yachts are generally safe on the open ocean, it’s a well-known fact that the most accidents and collisions happen in the harbours before leaving or when the boats come back in. In this case, according to a statement which was released from the Mediterranean Maritime Prefecture, the Vision was manoeuvring, and the Minx was at anchor. The Vision unexpectedly went off course and the Minx was then in its path, causing the two yachts to collide.


The two yachts were quite large so there were a fair number of people on board each one. In total, seventeen passengers had to be evacuated from the two yachts by authorities. With the one exception, no one sustained any major injuries. Sadly though, the Briton died following a cardiac arrest. The authorities released a statement saying that all the attempts of resuscitation were carried out, as one would expect, however it was to no avail and the young man was pronounced dead at the scene.

There is currently an ongoing investigation which was started by the Maritime Prosecutor of Marseilles, in conjunction with the Maritime Gendarmerie Research Brigade. Due to the current investigation and out of respect for his family, the man’s name has not yet been released. The tragic collision of the two yachts occurred just north of Sainte-Marguerite Island, in the bay of Cannes. At this time of year, the sun is shining, and the sea is full of party yachts, especially during the famous Cannes Film Festival. The Saturday when the incident took place was the final day of the 2019 festival when celebrities, actors, and many other famous faces band together in a final celebration until the next year. 

There’s no doubt that this is an incredibly sad event that has taken place and our condolences go out to the friends and family of the deceased. Out of 18 rescued people, it appears as if he was just the unlucky one. It was a miracle that no one else was killed or injured whatsoever. Given the busy time of the year, it’s lucky that there weren’t more yachts involved or more people on the two yachts otherwise it could have been a very different story and the death toll could have been far worse. Sometimes life isn’t fair, and no one knows why things happen. This is just one of those times.