French version of Survivor cancelled after contestant, 25, dies on first day of filming while taking part in tug-of-war

• Gérald Babin complained of cramps while undergoing task on Koh-Lanta
• Airlifted to hospital but suffered multiple heart attacks on the journey
• 16th season of popular reality show cancelled after tragic death
  

By Hugo Gye

PUBLISHED: 12:03 EST, 26 March 2013 | UPDATED: 02:34 EST, 27 March 2013

Tragic: Gérald Babin, 25, died during the first day of filming on French reality show Koh-Lanta

One of France's most popular reality television programmes has had its latest season cancelled after a contestant died on the first day of filming.

Koh-Lanta, the French version of Survivor, was filming its 16th season on a Cambodian island when Gérald Babin fell ill during a tug-of-war task with other contestants.

The 25-year-old was airlifted to a nearby hospital but suffered a series of heart attacks on the way and was later pronounced dead.

The tragic incident on Friday came at the very start of a planned five-month stay on the island of Koh Rong.

Contestants had jumped from a boat and were taking part in a tug-of-war contest when Mr Babin started to complain about cramps in his arms.

Doctors examined him on the set and decided he should be taken to hospital on the mainland town of Sihanoukville.

After he suffered from multiple cardiac arrests on the helicopter journey, hospital doctors were unable to save his life.

Adventure Line Productions, which produces the programme, said that Mr Babin had undergone a medical examination before being accepted as a contestant.

Broadcaster TF1 said in a statement: 'The whole team from ALP and TF1, plus [presenter] Denis Brogniart, are devastated and share in the deep sadness of Gérald's family.

'All their thoughts are with his parents, sister, wife and friends.'

Hit: A previous season of Koh-Lanta, one of the most popular reality TV shows in France

The companies immediately decided to suspend filming and cancel the show's current season, and the cast and crew have now returned to France.

Cambodia's tourism minister said that Mr Babin's family have travelled to the country to repatriate his body.

Koh-Lanta has been running on TF1 since 2001, and averaged 7.4million viewers in its latest season.

It is a spin-off of Survivor, which was invented by British producer Charlie Parsons and first appeared on TV in Sweden in 1997.

Tough: But all contestants are required to undergo health checks before the start of filming

The show involves 'castaways' on a remote island working together to build a camp, with the contestants nominating one person to be evicted each week.

There have been dozens of different versions of Survivor - in the U.S., the 26th season is currently airing on CBS.

The UK is one of the few countries where the reality contest was not a big hit, being cancelled after its second season in 2002 and replaced with I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!