Stuttgart, Dec 8, (dpa/GNA) – Emergency workers in south-western Germany, have retrieved an 82-year-old man from the Rhine, after he drove his car into the river overnight, police said on Sunday.
Eyewitnesses alerted the emergency services on Saturday evening, when they saw the car driving over a ferry jetty and into the water near the town of Rheinstetten, south of the city of Karlsruhe.
The driver was found dead at the wheel when the car was pulled out of the river, following a large-scale rescue operation on Sunday afternoon, a police spokesman said.
Overnight efforts by divers to find the vehicle were unsuccessful due to the strong current, and had to resume after daybreak.
On Sunday afternoon, a water police sonar boat detected the sunken car near a restaurant close to the crash site. The car was recovered from the water about an hour later.
According to police, the 82-year-old had been reported missing after becoming disoriented in the town of Bad Bergzabern, about 30 kilometres north-west of Rheinstetten, on Saturday. Investigations to clarify the exact circumstances of the incident are ongoing.
GNA