Barbeoch Joël, known as JO la baie, died on his 69th birthday on 4 May following a heart attack. Resident in Madagascar, his children are trying to repatriate him.

He arrived in Reunion in November 1986 and was a chef at the Alamanda Hotel and at the Hotel des Lataniers. After several trips back and forth, he settled in Madagascar. Joël Barbeoch was above all a family man.

He suffered his first heart attack and was hospitalised. The next day, his daughter called him to wish him a happy birthday and to tell him some great news: "My brother and I had found a flight for him to come back to Reunion to be treated. He wanted to come back to his island, it was his last wish. He died a few minutes later of a second heart attack.

His two children have opened a letchi fund to repatriate him.