France: 12-year-old acrobat dies during lighthouse stunt

A 12-year-old girl has died after falling from a lighthouse in France during the filming of TV show.

The child, named as acrobat Lilou Gaude suffered a fatal fall in the accident at the Cap Ferret lighthouse in Bordeaux on 18 June, evening French newspaper Sud Ouest reports.

The girl was doing a roped aerobatic display at the lighthouse as part of rehearsals for TV show Favourite Monument of France, broadcast on public national television channel France 2.

She was part of aerial acrobatics company Adrenalin, owned by her father, Nicolas who was also part of the act.

The girl was reportedly roped to the lighthouse and fell several metres on to the terrace above the building's front door.

Emergency services were soon at the scene but the child died shortly after their arrival. Both her parents are said to have been present at the time of the tragedy. The TV cameras had not been rolling at the time of the accident.

A source close to the investigation said: "The technical circumstances of the accident are still unclear and an investigation by the police is underway to clarify."

An investigation has been launched by police, with officers set to examine film footage as part of the inquiry.

France Television said filming of The Favourite Monument of the French by the Morgane TV production company had been suspended. Extended its condolences to the family the channel said in a statement: "France Television and the entire staff of France 2 are associated with the pain of the family and offer our most sincere condolences."

YouTube footage was posted in February this year of Adrenaline at the same lighthouse, which showed an acrobat performing aerial stunts around the tower while suspended from a wire.

Cap Ferret is famous for its red and white lighthouse, which was brought into service in 1840, destroyed during the Second World War and rebuilt in 1949.