A motorist died after driving his car into a canal on Thursday morning in the municipality of Mont-de-L’Enclus, in the Walloon province of Hainaut.
The emergency services of Picardy Wallonia were alerted at around 04:45 that a road accident had occurred along the Chaussée de la Libération in the village of Orroir.
Coming from the village of Amougies, the motorist lost control of his vehicle on a bend, just before a small bridge spanning a canal. The car then sank to the bottom of the canal.
Firefighters were dispatched from Tournai and Oudenaarde in Flanders to come to the rescue of the driver and his vehicle. Firefighters sent a crane, amphibious vehicle, divers, and a command vehicle to the scene.
“The car was completely submerged. We could just see the roof,” explained Lieutenant Harold Vaeskens, who led the rescue efforts. “We managed to recover the body of the victim. The man, in his 40s, had already died. He was alone in his car.”
The accident will now be investigated by the Tournai-Mons public prosecutor’s office.
