Salta: Eric Palante, 50, riding for the Honda team, died on Thursday's fifth stage between Chilecito and Tucuman in Argentina. Palante, in his 11th Dakar, was the third person associated with the gruelling race to die on Thursday after two members of an Argentine news team perished when their car plunged into a ravine.

Dakar organisers ASO issued a statement reporting that a technical support truck had discovered Palante's lifeless body at 0830 local time Friday at the 143 kilometre mark of the stage.