A HIKER was shot to death in a hunting accident after being mistaken for a wild boar in the south of France.

Jean-Louis Blanc, 59, was out walking close to the village of Taulignan, in the Drome department, when he was hit in the groin by a bullet.

The hunter, a local man aged 64, has been arrested by police and is facing manslaughter charges.

“The hunter was in his 60s and was sure a boar was coming towards him through the undergrowth after his dog started barking,” said a source close to the inquiry.

“He pulled the trigger, and the result was this terrible accident. The hunter is now in custody.”

Paramedics attended the scene of the killing, which took place shortly after 3:30 p.m. Saturday, but Blanc is thought to have died instantly.

The 64-year-old alleged killer, who has not been named, faces trial and prison if he is found guilty of involuntary violence.

It is the latest in a long string of fatal accidents associated with hunting in France.

The start of France’s hunting season in September has been tarnished by a number of horrific incidents.

In the first few days, a 13-year-old boy was mistakenly shot dead by his grandfather with a shotgun.

Then, in October, a woman sitting in her garden was killed after a hunter’s stray bullet passed through her garden hedge.

In November, a deer hunter who was just about to get married was gored to death by a cornered deer who charged him with his antlers in a wood near Paris.

Regis Levasseur, 62, died from his wounds during the terrifying attack in November in the famous Compiegne Forest, around 64 kilometers north of the French capital.

In 2016, there were 18 deaths from hunting accidents in France. (SD-Agencies)

(SD-Agencies)