Incidents Dakar Rally

in 1982, mark thatcher, son of british prime minister margaret thatcher, along french co-driver anne-charlotte verney , mechanic, disappeared 6 days. on 9 january trio became separated convoy of vehicles after stopped make repairs faulty steering arm. declared missing on 12 january; after large-scale search, lockheed l100 search plane algerian military spotted white peugeot 504 50 kilometres (31 mi) off course. thatcher, verney, , mechanic unharmed.

the organiser of rally, thierry sabine, killed when ecureuil helicopter ( squirrel-copter ) crashed @ 7:30 p.m. on tuesday 14 january 1986, dune @ mali during sudden sand-storm. killed onboard singer-songwriter daniel balavoine, helicopter pilot françois-xavier bagnoud, journalist nathalie odent, , jean-paul lefur radiophonic engineer rtl.

six people killed during 1988 race, 3 participants , 3 local residents. in 1 incident, baye sibi, 10-year-old malian girl, killed racer while crossed road. film crew s vehicle killed mother , daughter in mauritania on last day of race. race participants killed, in 3 separate crashes, dutch navigator on daf trucks team, french privateer, , french rider. racers blamed starting wildfire caused panic on train running between dakar , bamako, 3 more people killed.

in 2003, french driver daniel nebot both rolled , crashed toyota heavily @ high speed killing co-driver bruno cauvy. in 2005, spanish motorcyclist josé manuel pérez died in spanish hospital on monday 10 january after crashing week before on 7th stage. italian motorcyclist fabrizio meoni, two-time winner of event, became second dakar rally rider die in 2 days, following pérez on 11 january on stage 11. meoni 11th motorcyclist , 45th person overall die in history of race. on 13 january five-year-old senegalese girl hit , killed service lorry after wandering onto main road, bringing total deaths five.

in 2006, 41-year-old australian ktm motorcyclist andy caldecott, in third time in dakar, died on 9 january result of neck injuries sustained in crash approximately 250 kilometres (160 mi) stage 9, between nouakchott , kiffa, few kilometers (miles) location meoni had fatal wreck year before. won third stage of 2006 event between nador , er rachidia few days before death. death occurred despite efforts event organisers improve competitor safety, including limiting speed, mandatory rest @ fuel stops, , reduced fuel capacity requirements bike classes. on 13 january 10-year-old boy died while crossing course after being hit car driven latvian māris saukāns, while on 14 january 12-year-old boy killed after being hit support lorry.

in 2007, 29-year-old south african motor racer elmer symons died of injuries sustained in crash during fourth stage of rally. symons crashed bike in desert between er rachidia , ouarzazate, morocco. death occurred on 20 january, night before race s finish, when 42-year-old motorcyclist eric aubijoux died suddenly. cause of death believed heart attack, later suggested aubijoux had died of internal injuries sustained in crash earlier day while competing in 14th stage of race.

the 2008 dakar rally cancelled due security concerns after al-qaeda s murder of 4 french tourists on christmas eve in december 2007 in mauritania (a country in rally spent 8 days), various accusations against rally calling neo-colonialist , , al-qaeda s accusations against mauritania calling supporter of crusaders, apostates , infidels . french-based amaury sport organisation in charge of 6,000-kilometre (3,700 mi) rally said in statement had been advised french government cancel race, had been due begin on 5 january 2008 lisbon. said direct threats had been made against event al-qaeda related organisations.

omar osama bin laden, son of osama bin laden, attracted news coverage in 2008 promoting himself ambassador of peace , proposing 3,000-mile (4,800 km) horse race across north africa replacement dakar rally, sponsors money going support child victims of war, saying heard rally stopped because of al-qaida. don t think going stop me.

on 7 january 2009, body of 49-year-old motorcyclist pascal terry france found. had been missing 3 days , body lay on remote part of second stage between santa rosa de la pampa , puerto madryn.

on 4 january 2010, woman watching dakar rally killed when vehicle taking part in race veered off course , hit during opening stage.

on 1 january 2012, motorcyclist jorge martinez boero of argentina died after suffering cardiac arrest after fall. treated medical staff within 5 minutes of accident, died on way hospital.

on 7 january 2015, motorcycle rider michal hernik died unknown circumstances during stage 3 of 2015 rally.

overall 70 people, including 28 competitors, have died in dakar rally.