Mystery surrounds Michelin man's death on fishing trip off Brittany

Mystery surrounds the death of Edouard Michelin, the head of the world's largest tyre company, in the shipwreck of a small fishing boat off Brittany at the weekend.

The wreck of the 24ft line-fishing boat, the Liberté, was located by a minesweeper yesterday 10 miles off the Ile de Sein in western Brittany.

There was no immediate sign of a cause for the loss of the vessel, which sank in reasonable weather conditions on Friday night. The body of the boat's owner, Guillaume Normant, 43, the president of the local fishing organisation, has yet to be found.

A judicial investigation has been opened into the accident, but this is largely because of the eminence of one of the victims.

The Michelin company acted to dispel suggestions that the death of M. Michelin, 42, its president and director general, might leave the tyre giant in disarray. Unusually for such a large company, Michelin remains a family-controlled business, and the leading figure in the company has always been a Michelin.

None of Edouard Michelin's five brothers and sisters plays a large role in the company, and his own six children are too young to take over. M. Michelin's "co-manager", Michel Rollier, 60, will continue to run the company, which has 20 per cent of the world tyre market.

After a special Mass for M. Michelin in the cathedral at Clermont Ferrand, the company's birthplace and headquarters, M. Rollier said: "The future of the business is assured. Edouard Michelin did everything possible to make certain that it was assured."

Since he took over from his father in 1999, M. Michelin has re-established the French company as the world's largest tyre-maker. He has concentrated on top-of-the-range, hi-tech tyres, and took the company back into Formula One car racing after an eight-year gap. He had, however, announced that he planned to leave Formula One again at the end of the present season.

M. Michelin's body was found eight miles off the Breton coast on Friday night. He had persuaded M. Normant - against his gut instincts - to take him fishing for sea bass, despite poor visibility and a heavy swell.

The French coastguard said, however, that conditions were reasonable at the time of the shipwreck.