The five of them were in the car when their car suddenly started skidding on the icy and icy roads around Lake Chalain. The car belonging to the five students fell ten meters and ended up in the icy water of the mountain lake.
The students were trapped, only one of them managed to pry from the sinking wreckage. For the four others – the adult driver and three minor passengers – help came too late. The boy who was able to free himself from the wreckage was able to inform the emergency services himself, said Lionel Pascal, prosecutor in Lons-le-Saunier.
Lake Chalain is one of the largest natural lakes in France, it is located in the Jura Mountains, close to the border with Switzerland. The road around the lake was very slippery because of the cold weather.