Longhorn Dam in Texas: Nose over the waterfall

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Boat on Longhorn Dam: rescue operation for four passengers

Photo: dpa

It is a sight like in a movie scene: a boat hangs with its tip over the abyss of a waterfall.

The four passengers hold on, obviously in fear of a crash.

In a dramatic action, helpers in Texas were able to save the people unharmed.

The rescue workers in the Texas capital Austin were called to Longhorn Dam on Thursday afternoon because a rented boat with several people on board threatened to fall a few meters, the local rescue service said.

The inmates drove their boat too close to one of the locks and could not have freed themselves from the emergency on their own.

After a rescue operation with another borrowed boat failed, a police boat drove to the dam and finally managed to pull the boat away from the abyss and out into the open water.

A photo taken by the authorities shows that the inmates initially did not wear life jackets.

These were later handed to them by the rescue workers, it said.

A police officer said the dam could be more deadly than people realize, according to Fox 7 Austin television.

"If you look at the other side of Longhorn Dam, there is concrete on the underside," said the policeman. "If you fell down, you would hit concrete." He is not sure what would have happened if the rescue workers wouldn't have been around.

ptz / dpa