The Associated Press

PARIS - A French co-driver died after an accident during Saturday's stage of the Dakar Rally in Libya, organizers said.

Bruno Cauvy, 48, was dead when doctors arrived at the crash site by helicopter less than half an hour after organizers were informed of the accident.

The car's lead driver, Daniel Nebot, wasn't injured in the crash, about 165 miles into the stage between Zilla and Sarir.

Cauvy is the 13th competitor to die since the Dakar Rally was first run in 1979, according to TV station France 3. The last driver to die in the race was Jean-Pierre Leduc in 1997.

Others have died, though, including a mechanic last year.

Nebot and Cauvy were in 63rd place before Saturday's 326-mile stage, won by Japanese driver Hiroshi Masuoka.

The Dakar Rally began Jan. 1 in the southern French port city of Marseille. It is scheduled to end in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Jan. 19.

Japanese driver Kenjiro Shinozuka was seriously injured Thursday when his car flipped over during the rally's eighth stage. The 54-year-old former Dakar Rally champion was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Tunisia, with facial and other injuries. Organizers said he was out of danger.