An investigation opened after the discovery of two bodies on the beach near Marseille

An investigation was opened after the discovery Thursday morning of two lifeless bodies, one of which was "completely naked", on the beachfront in Sausset-les-Pins, 40 km west of Marseille, AFP learned from the Aix-en-Provence public prosecutor's office. “Two bodies – a male and a female – were found in the water, on the beach, 600 meters from each other, one completely naked, the other partially undressed,” declared the Aix prosecutor, Jean-Luc Blachon, at the end of the day. “At this time, the people have not been formally identified,” he added.

The firefighters indicated that they were “called around 10:40 a.m. for a body spotted in the water in front of Paradou beach”. Shortly after, a second body was reported in Petit Nid cove, a few hundred meters from where the first body was found. According to a source close to the investigation, it would be a man of around 70 years old and a woman of around 40 years old, which the magistrate did not confirm, insisting on the fact that “the identification is still in progress”. “An investigation into the causes of death has been opened,” said Mr. Blachon.

“There will be an autopsy which will have to determine if these people died from drowning or if they were dead before being submerged,” he added. For the moment, we do not know when these two people disappeared, nor how long the bodies were in the water. Bouches-du-Rhône was on yellow “wave-submersion” alert on Thursday and the prefecture had called for the greatest vigilance, particularly near the coast. The Aix-en-Provence prosecutor did not rule out any hypothesis, while deeming it “strange to find a completely naked person”.