Storm Nils Death Toll Rises to Three as SMEC Technician Dies

Overview

• The SMEC announced Deloncle’s death at Montauban hospital on Saturday, February 21, with confirmation reported by local media on February 22–23.
• Deloncle was traveling to a water production site to address a power outage when an uprooted tree fell onto his SMEC vehicle around 2 a.m. on February 12.
• Firefighters spent about 25 minutes extricating him, and he was hospitalized in critical condition before succumbing to his injuries.
• The confirmed toll from storm Nils now includes Deloncle, a truck driver killed near Dax in the Landes, and an octogenarian who fell from a ladder in Montbartier.
• The death marks the second fatality in Tarn-et-Garonne and underscores the hazards faced by utility crews responding during severe wind events.