Story highlights Paris prosecutor's office opens a manslaughter investigation into the crash

The dead include French athletes Camille Muffat, Alexis Vastine and Florence Arthaud

The helicopters were on their way to a gorge for the filming of a reality TV show

(CNN) Three French sports stars were among 10 people killed when two helicopters collided in Argentina on Monday evening, authorities said.

The helicopters were reported to be heading to a gorge in northwestern Argentina for the filming of the reality TV show "Dropped" for the French broadcaster TF1.

Eight French passengers and the choppers' two Argentinian pilots died in the midair crash near the town of Villa Castelli in La Rioja province, Argentina's state news agency Telam reported, citing local authorities.

The dead included the famed sailor Florence Arthaud, who in 1990 broke the record for crossing the North Atlantic alone; the swimmer Camille Muffat, who won three medals at the 2012 Olympics in London; and the boxer Alexis Vastine, who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Members of the TV production team were among the other French victims, French authorities said.