A major search on the Danube in the Deggendorf district ended dramatically. A four year old could only be recovered dead. Apparently there were gawkers at the scene.
- On Sunday (August 9th) numerous rescuers were called to a mission on the Danube in Osterhofen south of Deggendorf .
- Two boys disappeared in the Danube.
- The big search began shortly afterwards around 2.30 p.m.
Update from August 9, 10:12 p.m.: The stunned locals were still written on their faces. With his presence of mind he had just saved the life of a little girl - and then had to watch helplessly as another dwarf disappeared into the waters of the Danube. “Suddenly I didn't see the boy anymore, he was just gone,” the eyewitness to the bathing drama near Osterhofen in the Deggendorf district told the emergency services shortly afterwards. Unfortunately, they couldn't do anything more for the missing four-year-old and later only rescue him dead from the water.
The terrible accident happened around 2.30 p.m .: The two siblings (4 and 6) played in a small bay that is separated from the main stream by a kind of embankment. But suddenly the children were carried away. “The current of the Danube is often underestimated. The parents probably thought that there was no danger there, ”reports district fire inspector Bernhard Suss in an interview with tz. “There are repeated warnings about the river's pitfalls. But unfortunately many bathers ignore this. On the shore there is sometimes a real beach party, children romp around with water wings in the shore area. It is incomprehensible and devastating when such a bad accident happens. "
The fire brigade chief reminds that just a few days ago near the town of Bogen a girl (13) was torn to her death by the current of the Danube. The tragic thing about the case of the drowned four-year-old: his family apparently comes from abroad, according to reports, there should have been communication problems. It is possible that the parents had no idea of the particular danger situation in the apparently quiet Danube Bay.
After the boy had disappeared, the emergency services had done everything humanly possible to find the missing person alive. Two helicopters and a large number of helpers searched the river and the bank areas, even a special underwater drone was used, and a number of passers-by took part in the search - in vain. District fire inspector Suess took the drama as an opportunity to appeal again to the common sense of the bathers: "Please do not underestimate the dangers in the Danube and make others aware of it if you have the impression that these people do not know anything about it."
Thank goodness another major operation ended on Sunday evening at the Riemer See . Bathers believed to have observed that a swimmer had sunk. Two helicopters flew over the lake, water patrol and fire brigade searched the water. After an hour and a half, they broke off the mission - apparently it had been a false alarm. Andreas Beez
Drama on the Danube: Two boys are flooded - four-year-old dead - gawkers take cell phone pictures of misfortune
Deggendorf - The rescue workers in Osterhofen in Lower Bavaria in the Deggendorf district had a bad mission. Two boys who had previously played in the water suddenly disappeared. The emergency call triggered a gigantic large-scale operation.
Large-scale operation on the Danube: two boys suddenly disappear in the water
Several fire brigades, including the Osterhofen and Deggendorf fire brigades , searched by sea and on land. Several local water rescue organizations were also in action. A fire brigade drone searched the surface of the water , as did a rescue helicopter that flew down the Danube following the current. An underwater drone was also used.
Search for missing four-year-old in Danube: floods make underwater search difficult
But the visibility under water in the Danube is still less than one meter due to the previous flood in Bavaria, as the Passauer Neue Presse reports.
Dramatic search for a four-year-old in the Danube: onlookers take cellphone photos while boy drowns
Volunteers also searched the banks and the Danube by boat and on foot. At the same time, the unpleasant side that such operations cause in people became apparent : The fire brigade reported to the PNP of gawkers who stood on the bank in front of the emergency services and took cell phone pictures of the unprecedented drama about a missing four-year-old boy.
The boy has since been found. Not far from where he was last seen. Apparently the current had not caught him due to a so-called “groyne”. A groyne is a dam built at right angles to the course of the flow.
Nothing more could be done for the four-year-old. According to the first information, the other boy was apparently pulled out of the water early.
According to the PNP, the fire brigade expelled the spectators from the square and - as far as understandable - had all material deleted.
Because of its many easily accessible bodies of water, Bavaria holds a sad record for the number of bathing deaths.
