Kitesurfer killed after 'mini tornado' smashes him into seafront restaurant window at French beach | The Sun

A KITESURFER has been killed after a "mini-tornado" caused him to smash into a seafront restaurant's window.

The 31-year-old surfer died instantly after a strong gust of wind sent him flying against a window in Villers-sur-Mer in France.

Another five people have been injured and taken to the hospital after the storm hit the Normandy beach on Saturday.

The sudden blast of wind that was described by local media as a "mini tornado" led to three more injuries.

A person who was reported missing at sea was later found safe.

The extreme weather phenomenon was not predicted by meteorologists who didn't expect the winds to be so strong Francebleu reported.

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The city's mayor Thierry Granturco, described it as "violence as we have never known on our coast".

The strong winds reportedly lasted 20-25 minutes on the Côte Fleuriebetween Ouistreham and Deauville.

Granturco told franceinfo: "It blew more and more violently and it ended with a mini tornado.

“We had communication with Météo France which informed us that they had not been able to anticipate this kind of mini tornado.

"We knew that we were going to have strong winds, they were announced at the very end of the evening, even in at night, but we didn't think they would be so violent and at 8:30 pm."

According to Francetvinfo forecasters ofMétéo France had warned of "punctual thunderstorms" ,in the south-west "going up towards Normandy".

They had noted that the thunderstorms "could prove to be quite strong, accompanied by a few gusts of wind."

Thw mini-tornado left a trail of destruction, with residents running for cover.

The mayor later wrote on a Facebook post: "My thoughts are firstly with the family of the deceased, devastated, whom we escorted and accommodated in emergency as psychologically unable to return home.

"A family of secondary residents, I have been present in Villers for two generations and I share their pain very sincerely.

"My thoughts then go out to the injured, hospitalized, and their families, some of whom also had been urgently housed from the Parisian region.

"And finally they go to all those people who are being taken care of by the psych cell for having witnessed a particularly violent death.

"I want to thank our firefighters from all over the country for caring for the injured and supporting our people, supported by our police including their Maritime Security platoon.

"Thanks also to the civil security services whose intervention was valuable.

"But I also want to thank the city services for their responsiveness, availability and commitment."

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