TRAGIC: 10 Killed As Helicopters Collide While Filming French Reality Show

What a tragic event! Ten people died today when two helicopters involved in the production of a French reality show collided in Argentina. The BBC reports that the choppers were carrying eight contestants of the TF1 reality competition Dropped and that all died along with the two Argentine pilots. “An explosion occurred, and it’s believed that they must have collided,” said La Rioja Secretary of Security Cesar Angulo, according to the BBC. The accident happened in near the Andes mountains in northwest Argentina, about 720 miles from Buenos Aires.

TF1 said in a statement: “We learn with great sadness about the accident during the filming of the Dropped show. All TF1 teams come together in this terrible time with the pain of the families and relatives of the victims.”

French President Francois Hollande confirmed that long-distance yachtswoman Florence Arthaud, Olympic swimmer Camille Muffat and Olympic boxer Alexis Vastine were among the victims. Muffat set an Olympic record in winning gold in the women’s 4oom meter freestyle at the London games in 2012. Vastine won a bronze medal at Beijing in 2008 and also competed in London. This season’s other Droppedcontestants were Laurent Sbasnik, Lucie Mei-Dalby, Volodia Guinard, Brice Guilbert and Edouard Gilles. None has been confirmed as being a victim of the crash.

The Dropped format features athletic celebrities divided into two teams who are blindfolded and dropped into some of the most remote locations on earth. With no food, no map, and no help, they must make their way through unforgiving landscapes to find civilization and a helicopter to take them to the next location.