A professional footballer in France has been declared brain dead after drowning near Lyon. Kenzo Kies had left Saint-Etienne following the expiration of his contract and joined Ligue 2 side En Avant Guingamp.
The incident occurred at the Rhone River, with local emergency services called to the scene around 5:30pm. Reports state that four people, including Kies, were dragged into a current at the waterfront in eastern France.
It’s said that two people were pulled from the current without the need for medical attention, with another needing to be resuscitated. That individual was later taken to hospital and is said to be in a stable condition.
Divers were needed to rescue Kies, but after being dragged out of the water, the footballer was declared brain-dead. Medical officials attempted to resuscitate him, but they weren’t successful, with an investigation into the tragedy having been opened.
It comes amid intense heatwaves across Europe, with French sports minister Marina Ferrari having issued a warning against swimming in potentially dangerous areas. She said: “Around 20 people have drowned since the start of last weekend.
“I urge people to respect the safety warnings. People go to swim in unsupervised areas during heatwaves, and it is not a trivial matter. I understand people want to go into the water to cool down. But they really have to stick to areas that are supervised.”
The temperature record was broken in Lyon on Monday, with a temperature high of 38.5°C recorded at 4pm. That rose to 39.8°C later in the afternoon, with the city under an orange weather alert.
Kies was 21 years old and originally began his playing career with Lyon in 2010. He played for the youth teams for eight years, before joining Saint-Etienne. Despite being at the early stage of his career, Kies was being touted as a promising prospect and had an exciting career ahead of him.