The chairman and co-founder of Chinese conglomerate HNA Group has died following an accident during a business trip in France, the company confirmed on Wednesday.

中国海航集团董事长兼联合创始人在法国商务旅行中遭遇事故身亡，周三该公司证实了这一消息。

Wang Jian, aged 57, suffered 'severe injuries' in a 15 metre- (49 foot-) fall in Provence in southern France on Tuesday, according to the police.

据警方透露，周二现年57岁的王健在法国南部的普罗旺斯从15米（49英尺）的地方摔下，“严重受伤”。

Mr Wang, who had a net worth of US$1.7 billion (£1.3 billion) according to Forbes, was one of the key players in HNA's aggressive expansion from a regional company to the massive conglomerate it is today.

《福布斯》杂志估计净资产为17亿美元（13亿英镑）的王健，是海航集团从一家地方公司扩张为如今如此庞大的集团企业的关键人物之一。

HNA is the owner of Hainan Airlines, China's fourth-largest airline and the largest private airline in China. Mr Wang held 15 per cent of the group's shares.

海航集团拥有中国第四大航空公司，也是中国最大的民营航空公司海南航空。王健持有该集团15%的股份。

'He stood on the edge of a sharp drop to get his family to take a picture of him and fell,' said lieutenant-colonel Hubert Meriaux of the Vaucluse gendarmerie force.

“他站在一个陡坡的边上，让他的家人拍下他的照片，然后摔倒了，”沃克吕兹省宪兵部队的梅里奥上校说。

Witnesses described him falling from a small wall while travelling in the hilltop village of Bonnieux in Provence, according to Financial Times.

据《金融时报》报道，目击者描述说，王健在普罗旺斯的博尼约山顶村庄旅行时从一堵矮墙上掉了下来。

Mr Wang graduated from the Civil Aviation University of China and received an MBA from the Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands, according to his company.

据他的公司介绍，王健毕业于中国民航大学，获得荷兰马斯特里赫特管理学院工商管理硕士学位。

Launched in 1993 on the southern island of Hainan, HNA expanded into finance, hotels, logistics and other businesses in a multibillion-dollar global acquisition spree in recent years.

海航集团于1993年在中国海南岛成立，近年来进军金融、酒店、物流等领域，在全球范围内进行了一场规模达数十亿美元的收购热潮。