PARIS, Jan 4 (Reuters) – French prosecutors said on Tuesday they had opened a terrorism investigation into an explosion that went off under a French vehicle involved in the Dakar rally in Saudi Arabia. The blast, which seriously injured one of the rally competitors, hit a support vehicle belonging to the French team Sodicars soon after it left its hotel in the Saudi city of Jeddah for the race route, according to accounts from the team and race organisers. Five team members were in the vehicle at the time and one of them – driver Philippe Boutron – sustained serious leg injuries. French newspaper L’Equipe quoted a team-mate as saying the blast ripped through the floor of the vehicle, which then caught fire. Race director David Castera told L’Equipe that the two-week race will continue, and that he had asked Saudi authorities to assign more police to protect the rally.
