Eyewitness describes yellow smoke pouring from Champs Elysees car, body lies on avenue

Record ID: 896123

  • Title: Eyewitness describes yellow smoke pouring from Champs Elysees car, body lies on avenue
  • Date: 19th June 2017
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (JUNE 19, 2017) (REUTERS) BODY OF MAN LYING ALONGSIDE CHAMPS ELYSEES AVENUE FORENSIC POLICE LIFTING SHEET OFF BODY FORENSIC POLICE SURROUNDING CAR VARIOUS OF POLICE GUARDING CORDONED OFF CHAMPS ELYSEES (SOUNDBITE) (French) 16-YEAR-OLD EYEWITNESS, ADRIEN CAIRO, SAYING: "We saw a car that stopped normally level with a red light and a riot police van and then suddenly we saw big flames coming out of the front windows of the car. Then suddenly we saw four policemen arrive, they knocked on the window, they said "Sir, are you all right? Can you hear us?" There was no reply, they broke the window, they took the man out of the car. Then two others turned up with fire extinguishers to put the car out even though by that stage there were hardly any flames, they must have lasted two seconds max. Then there was some weird yellow smoke, you'd have thought it was gas, and that lasted longer, maybe 10 or 15 seconds." FORENSIC POLICE TAKING SAMPLES AS BODY LIES IN STREET POLICEMAN SEARCHING CAR POLICE TYING SHEET TO TENT TO HIDE BODY (SOUNDBITE) (French) 16-YEAR-OLD EYEWITNESS, ADRIEN CAIRO, SAYING: "As it's really hot at the moment I thought to myself, 'Oh it's a little problem with the car, it's caught fire, it could happen to anyone. But then when I saw the weird yellow smoke and we saw that the smoke lasted two seconds then I thought to myself, 'Guys, maybe it's an attack." We started asking ourselves questions and we said, 'Maybe it's an attack, maybe we're in serious danger'." BODY LYING ON GROUND (SOUNDBITE) (French) 16-YEAR-OLD EYEWITNESS, ADRIEN CAIRO, SAYING: "They took the driver out of the car, I think two of them dragged him out. But the driver didn't actually move. It was like he was unconscious. They put him on the side of the road quite far from the car and that's it but the driver wasn't moving, he wasn't doing anything." VARIOUS OF ARMED POLICEMAN POLICE VANS PEOPLE IN STREET (SOUNDBITE) (French) RETIRED 66-YEAR-OLD PASSER BY, YVONNE LE GALL, SAYING: "You just don't think about it. We go around, and we rely on the police to do their jobs which is what they've done up until now." VARIOUS OF ARC DE TRIOMPHE ON CHAMPS ELYSEES AVENUE
  • Embargoed: 3rd July 2017 19:21
  • Keywords: Champs Elysees France body car police eyewtiness
  • Location: PARIS, FRANCE
  • City: PARIS, FRANCE
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,International/National Security
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016LY44ZR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
    An eyewitness described seeing "yellow smoke" pouring from a car on the Champs Elysees avenue on Monday (June 19), after the French Interior Ministry said a driver appeared to deliberately crash his car into a police van on the iconic avenue.
    The man, who was known to French security services, died in the incident, officials said, and his body was seen lying along on the Champs Elysees.
    Eyewitness Adrien Cairo said he saw four policemen approach the vehicle after it burst into flames.
    "There was some weird yellow smoke, you'd have thought it was gas, and that lasted longer, maybe 10 or 15 seconds," the 16-year-old told Reuters TV.
    The Paris prosecutor's counter-terrorism unit said an investigation had been opened into the Paris incident a short walk from the Elysee presidential palace and the U.S. embassy.
    France has been on high security alert following a series of militant Islamist attacks in recent years, including the shooting of a policeman in an Islamic State-claimed attack on a police bus on the Champs Elysees in April.
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