Rescuers search for woman swept away in flash floods in Alps tourist village
Victim hit by debris when crossing bridge to find safe campsite
A 57-year-old woman is missing in eastern France after being swept away by powerful floodwaters and debris while trying to reach a campsite.
The woman was carried away early in the evening on Tuesday, August 4, when attempting to cross a bridge over the Giffre river to reach a safe campsite near Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval (Haute-Savoie).
She was visiting from the northern Oise department with her husband and dog, and it was her first time in the area.
Firefighters were unable to find her during an initial search and passed the investigation on to the national Gendarmerie just before midnight.
Authorities continue to look for her today and are set to deploy drones to assist in the search.
The commune is a popular hiking spot, particularly in the summer, and in a separate incident 15 people, including two babies, had to be rescued from nearby Cirque du Fer à Cheval following a landslide.
The rescue required several firefighters as the commune is only accessible via one road, which was cut off during the incident.
A total of 170 people took shelter at a restaurant in the commune before being authorised to return this morning.
The video below shows the landslide.
INTEMPÉRIES : Une personne est recherchée après qu’une coulée de boue dans le cours du Giffre a débordé sur un parking, lors de fortes pluies orageuses à Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, en Haute-Savoie. Plusieurs hélicoptères et sauveteurs aquatiques ont été mobilisés pour sauver des… pic.twitter.com/DYLovsaANT
— Infos Françaises (@InfosFrancaises) August 5, 2026
Hit by debris while crossing bridge
Powerful storms battered several areas of France yesterday, including the east.
A "highly localised storm [causing] a torrential debris flow,” hit the area in the evening, said mayor of Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval Cédric Mionnet-Perdu to BFMTV.
This included "50,000 cubic metres of material,” flowing along the Giffre, the mayor said, including water and debris such as rocks, concrete, and organic material.
The woman and her partner “were heading to a campsite to take shelter, and unfortunately, they passed over just as the debris flow submerged the bridge,” he added.
It is believed that a riverbank along the Giffre river burst, collecting debris alongside the excess water from heavy rainfall.
‘I am under no illusions… I want to grieve’
Her husband spoke to BFMTV following the incident.
“It all happened in a split second. I barely had time to turn my head, take a step back, and tell her to move back before she was knocked over by a wall of rubble and concrete [flowing with the floodwater],” he said.
“That was the last time I saw my wife... once things calmed down, I was in shock; I tried searching through the rubble. But without success. We had no mobile signal there, so a passerby had to call emergency services from further down,” he added.
“I’m under no illusions. Between the concrete wall that swept her away, the mud, and the cold [I think she is dead].”
“All I want is to find the body of my wife, the mother of my children, so I can grieve.”
