Berlin, July 22, (dpa/GNA) – Several people lost their lives in swimming accidents over the weekend in Germany, as the country experienced hot summer weather. Some others in distress were rescued, including two toddlers.
In the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a 62-year-old man was discovered lifeless in a lake by a lifeguard, and immediately brought ashore, said a police spokeswoman. Together with a doctor who happened to be present, the lifeguard attempted resuscitation. However, these efforts were unsuccessful.
In Rostock’s city harbour in the same state, passers-by found a person near the ferry terminal floating lifeless in the water. Paramedics called to the scene could only retrieve the body of the bikini-clad woman. According to initial findings, there was no indication of a violent death for the 27-year-old, said a spokesman for the water police.
In Hildesheim in the northern state of Lower Saxony, an 84-year-old man died in an accident while operating a remote-controlled model boat on a local lake known as the Hohensee. The police reported that the boat presumably got entangled in aquatic plants, prompting the man to enter the lake, where he got stuck underwater near the boat. Divers retrieved his body 50 minutes later.
Emergency services of the German Lifesaving Association (DLRG) saved a 17-year-old girl from the Baltic Sea at Graal Müritz beach, also in in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The local girl had gone swimming after dark with her boyfriend, who shortly afterwards lost sight of her and reported her missing, said a spokesman for the rescue service.
With the help of a drone equipped with a thermal imaging camera, the young woman was located about 100 metres from the shore. A lifeguard then brought her ashore largely unharmed.
An 85-year-old man died while swimming in the region of Middle Franconia in the southern German state of Bavaria. According to police, the man suffered a coughing fit on Friday afternoon and subsequently went underwater in the quarry pond near the small town of Happurg. A 68-year-old man accompanying him reportedly tried to hold on to him but was unable to help.
In the state of Brandenburg surrounding Berlin, an 84-year-old woman died while swimming in a lake called the Kuhpanzsee. The woman from Berlin had been swimming alone in the lake on Saturday, police reported. Relatives found her floating lifeless in the water after a few minutes. Their attempts to resuscitate her, as well as those of the summoned emergency services, were unsuccessful.
A 4-year-old boy was rescued from a pond in Woltersdorf, also in Brandenburg. The child had been swimming with several other children at a birthday party on Saturday, police reported on Sunday. The other children saw the 4-year-old floating in the water. The boy was immediately rescued from the water and could be resuscitated.
A girl aged about 6 years old sank in Berlin while playing at Tegel Lake and was rescued by a lifeguard. The child had been playing in an inflatable ring in the water, the DLRG reported. The DLRG station observed the girl slipping through the ring and sinking underwater.
The lifeguard immediately jumped into the water and brought her to the surface. “As she is a non-swimmer, it was a rescue from drowning,” the announcement said. The girl’s father had not been watching her during the life-threatening incident.
GNA