Michelin death probe

PARIS - A judicial investigation has begun into the drowning of Edouard Michelin, head of the world's largest tyre company, in a mysterious shipwreck off the coast of Brittany.

Michelin, 43, died when a small fishing vessel, captained by an experienced local fisherman, sank in fair weather off a treacherous part of the west Breton coast.

Neither the fishing boat nor its owner, Guillaume Normant, had been found yesterday. The body of Michelin, who led the company that controls 20 per cent of the world tyre market, was recovered on Saturday.

The fifth child of the secretive Francois Michelin, Edouard had been groomed to lead the Clermont Ferrand-based company. A married man with four children, he took over Michelin in 1999.

He has brought the company successfully back into motor racing after an eight-year absence.

Michelin was staying at the family's second home at Fouesnant on the west Breton coast. An autopsy confirmed that he drowned.

The public prosecutor, Anne Kayanakis, said she had ordered the judicial probe to rule out any criminal negligence.

- INDEPENDENT