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A day of mourning in the Dakar after the organization reported on the night of Tuesday, January 10, 2023, the death of a 69-year-old Italian spectator.

"A spectator of Italian origin who was behind a dune suffered an accident on the rally track. He was evacuated by helicopter by medical assistance but unfortunately, he died during the transfer ," they reported.

This is the first fatality in this edition of the Dakar and it all happened during the ninth stage consisting of 358 kilometers.

Ales Loprais , the truck category leader, entered a low dune with poor visibility and rammed the man.

The pilot himself offered his version on social networks: "I have very bad news, which they told me when I was returning from the ninth stage. We were already in bed when the Dakar stewards showed me a video of the race in which we hit a man by mistake taking photos of his wife behind a dune . He was injured, felt nauseated and dizzy for the next two to three hours, and had a heart attack on his way to the hospital."

"A human life has ended because of me, indirectly, because I was the one driving. I have to admit that neither I nor my crew realized it . We have onboard and other videos that prove it. But that does not change that a life The human race has ended. The man was Italian, but I don't know his name from the investigation. A 69-year-old man who came to see the Dakar and who unfortunately was behind that dune... and we didn't see him, none of us." , has added.

"I want to express my sincerest condolences to his family and friends. I am very sorry for this accident and it will haunt me for the rest of my life ," he concluded.

There are already 73 people , 27 of them participating in the Dakar, who have died in the 45 editions of the historic race.