Paris--Several hundred people from the French sporting world paid an emotional tribute on Wednesday to three of the country's best-known stars who were among 10 killed in a helicopter crash in Argentina.
Pictures of the trio, covered with flowers, were laid out at the National Institute of Sport and Physical Education (INSEP), France's leading sports institute, whose head said it was like a "death in the family."
Monday's crash killed Olympic champion swimmer Camille Muffat, yachtswoman Florence Arthaud and Olympic boxer Alexis Vastine, as well as five French TV crew members and two Argentine pilots.
"It's a little bit of France that was left in Argentina," said Sports Minister Patrick Kanner.
Meanwhile, two French officials were on their way to join Argentine investigators who are already combing through the wreckage, looking for clues as to why two helicopters smashed into each other shortly after take-off in the rugged mountains of La Rioja province.
The victims -- and five other sports stars including former France and Arsenal footballer Sylvain Wiltord -- were contestants in the reality TV series "Dropped" which involves placing sports personalities in inhospitable conditions.
It was the bloodiest accident in reality TV history.
Emergency workers removed the victims' remains from the wreckage near the small northwestern town of Villa Castelli on Tuesday and took them to the morgue in the provincial capital, about 300 kilometers (200 miles) from the crash site.
The bodies were burned beyond recognition, provincial security secretary Luis Cesar Angulo told AFP.
There were no survivors in the crash, which authorities said happened in good weather.
Video taken from the ground showed the two helicopters flying extremely close, their rotors clipping and both aircraft plummeting.
Franck Firmin-Guion, head of Adventure Line Productions (ALP) that was making the show, said: "Suddenly, (one of the helicopters) swerved off course and hit the other one."
French media provided blanket coverage of the accident, with Le Parisien daily using the headline "Goodbye, champions".
Some papers pointed the finger at the concept of reality TV, with the Sud Ouest regional daily asking: "Is even the best programme... worth the sacrifice of 10 people and the death of three magnificent athletes?"
- 'Death in the family' -
Muffat, 25, won three medals at the 2012 London Olympics, including gold in the 400-meter freestyle, sealing her status as one of the best swimmers in French history.
She shocked the sporting world in June last year by announcing her retirement at the age of 24, saying she was exhausted by the long hours of training and wanted to pursue new challenges.
AFP
