The Volkswagen driver, who started the second loop of today’s two stages in overall third place, skidded off the road on the exit of a right-hander.

Dipping his left rear wheel into the ditch, he managed to get the car out but ended up sliding into a photographer, who appeared to have been reaching for his equipment.

Although the photographer was knocked off his feet, he seemingly escaped the incident unscathed as Latvala quickly rejoined the track.

The excursion left the Finn with a broken suspension arm, with Latvala forced to pull over for repairs, eventually going on to complete the stage with a deficit of almost two minutes.

Andreas Mikkelsen and Thierry Neuville both moved past the Finn in the overall classification as a result.