By Hajer M’tiri

PARIS

French investigators have launched a probe into the "alarming" disappearance of Hongwei Meng, the Chinese president of Interpol, French media reported Friday.

Meng, 64, has been unaccounted for since he left France for China in late September, Europe 1 radio reported.

"Since his departure, he remains unreachable and untraceable," Europe1 said, adding Meng’s "worried wife, living in Lyon with their children, reported his disappearance to the French authorities and was heard by the judicial police."

Meng was elected in November 2016 as the head of Interpol, succeeding the French Mireille Ballestrazzi.