Philippe of Dieuleveult (July 4th, 1951 with Versailles - missing on August 6th, 1985 around Inga, Zaire) was the organizer of the famous French television program Hunting for the treasures , “an adventurer of modern times”.

Biography

Married in 1977 with Diane de Torquat, it had three children: Erwann (1978), Tugdual (1981) and a Anaïd girl born on August 14th, 1985, a few days after its disappearance. It also has six brothers: Yves (1938), Jacques (1939-1989), Guy (1941-1973), Jean (1942), Hugues (1946) and Eric (1950-1991).

Successively cameraman then freelance journalist with Antenna 2, it will intend himself rather quickly towards the report. In March 1978, it is classified third with the emission of French-speaking televisions the Race around the world which allowed the candidates in exchange of a report per week, diffused on organizing French-speaking televisions, to leave to discovered the world for four months, camera Super 8 with the fist.

Philippe of Dieuleveult was engaged in 1979, as journalist to defer images (JRI) by Jean-Claude Criton, journalist, producer and realizer of a special program for FR3 ( New Friday of Jean-Marie Cavada) on the Chad.

He animates the emission of Antenne 2 Hunting for the treasures on March 15th, 1981, which will impassion France during more than four years. Recording the emission each week in a country different with the four corners from the sphere, it then marks the French by his sympathy, its humor, and its takings risk (falls since a helicopter, plunged under navy, jump in parachute on line…). The diffused emission Sunday evening will arrive often at the head of the audiences. Hunting for the (French) Treasury remains for many televiewers an extraordinary emission to date unequalled.

In same time that its televisual activities, it records a disc, Los Angeles 84 , in 1984 at the time of OJ, then appears its autobiography I have blue sky in my passport (Grasset), which in the five weeks space becomes a best-seller with more: 300,000 sold specimens.

Disappearance

In 1985, Philippe of Dieuleveult undertakes the descent of the river Zaire, second river of the world in term of flow behind the the Amazon with its 50000 m3 /s, with ten companions in raft. It is forwarding “Africa-Raft”, including/understanding two inflatable rafts. The August 6th 1985, its radio cease to emit. It disappears mysteriously with six other members from the operation around the hydroelectric stopping from Inga. François Laurenceau and Jean-Louis Amblard survived forwarding because they estimated that the rapids of Inga, considered insuperable, were too dangerous and temporarily left forwarding, the morning of the tragedy, on the Island with the Hippopotamuses. At this place, the river is not navigable. What justified the construction of the Railroad Matadi-Kinshasa between 1890 and 1898.

On their arrival with the stopping, the point of appointment with the crew, on August 6th with 14:00, the survivors were not badgered, but seem to be kept away of the river.

The conditions of the disappearance of Philippe of Dieuleveult were still not cleared up, leaving open the assumptions of the accident, the drowning, an assassination or a bur of the Zairean army.

Assumption of the assassination

The assumption of its assassination was evoked in 1994 by an ex-officer of the Zairean secret services who affirmed in one entitled book " I saw dying Philippe of Dieuleveult " at Michel Lafon, that Philippe of Dieuleveult was assassinated. In this book, Okito Bucket-Bucket, former officer of the secret services of the Zaire, taken refuge in Belgium in 1990, deceased today, said to have attended the execution of Philippe of Dieuleveult. It describes in detail the last hours of Philippe of Dieuleveult which, put at the dungeon and undergoing hours of interrogation in a military camp, would have been carried out with four of his/her companions in the night of the August 9th. This assumption, which seems to be based on anything else only the word of its writer, rather seems to hold of the phantasm and is rejected by Tugdual of Dieuleveult which privileges the thesis of the bur.

Assumption of the bur and the drowning

A Enquête realized in 2006 by Tugdual of Dieuleveult for a television program presents another point of view indeed. According to this report, the most credible version is that supported by Jean-Louis Amblard, namely a bur of the Zairean army about three of the participants (Philippe of Dieuleveult, Angelini, Lucien Blockmans) and of a drowning for the four others (Andre Herault, Richard Janelle, Guy Colette and Nelson Bastos). This version is also supported by the Admiral Lacoste (Chief of the DGSE at the time) and Gerard d' Aboville in the report of Tugdual, but the absence of index of bur lets plane the doubt.

Some suppose that the authorities Zairean and French would have covered the accident by supporting the thesis of drowning before to have sought to include/understand what had been able to occur. The reasons of this reaction of the State would have been of a diplomatic nature and perhaps related to the supposed membership of Philippe of Dieuleveult to DGSE. This membership was formally confirmed Tugdual, the son of Philippe of Dieuleveult to the RTBF on September 30th, 2007 - Bonnie emission & Clide].

Assumption of the accident

Lastly, according to the newspaper the Evening of August 20th, 1985, it is the thesis of the accident which is most probable. The newspaper raises that several employees of the stopping looked at the inflatable rafts descending the rapids. Ken Selman, an American adviser, tells that the raft of Philippe of Dieuleveult derived on the river before the turn at the head from pin, then was grabbed by the currents towards the West in front of the stopping. He saw plunging the boat five seconds, jumping in the air while being turned over and sinking again before reappearing. Salman and its colleague did not see anybody on board. They saw a paddle which was actually found on the failed boat. He does not believe that a crew not attached like that of Philippe of Dieuleveult, could be maintained on the raft at the time of the loop. The second raft would undoubtedly have capsized as of the first meters of the terrible rapids.

Nevertheless, certain elements sow the doubt: a coffee pot, an oil bottle and most of the equipment of the raft of Philippe of Dieuleveult seem to be hidden or arranged under a rock of a sand split beside the boat. It was found in a split located at one kilometer and half downstream from the aerodrome, without trace of shock (contrary to the other boat of forwarding, found jagged upstream, more close to the stopping), the intact radio antenna and the stake of mooring in water at the end of a cord.

Moreover, on August 12th, 1985, a Zairean engineer, Tunasi Atanga and a friend affirm with the newspaper the Evening to have seen the shortly after the tragedy, on Wednesday, August 7, towards 11:00, since an escarpment close to the end to the airport, three white men outward journey and to come around the intact boat. They “appeared to arrange yellow bags on the boat”. The bags of forwarding were indeed yellow sharp. It specifies to have lit a fire and fact of the signs with a white blouse, but, affirms he, “they did not seem in danger. ” Towards would 16:00, these three men white have disappeared (parties in the mountain?)

One week later, Atanga is not as any more formal on the color of the skin of the three men, estimating as at this distance from approximately a kilometer and half, with the binocular, “one could not recognize the color of the skin.” His/her friend still affirms to have seen three white men.

This testimony is capital and constituted, at the time of the disappearance of Philippe of Dieuleveult and according to the newspaper the Evening , “the key of the mystery”.

If it can seem curious that only one of the bodies of the seven members of forwarding was recovered (that of Guy Collette), that could be explained by the swirls which can involve a body towards the bottom, to plate it under a rock and by the presence of predatory (crocodiles three meters length and fish carnivorous mbenga.)

References

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