14-year-old drowns in the sea – large-scale fire brigade operation could not save him

Created: 09/01/2022, 17:38

By: Johanna Werning

A 14-year-old drowned in Lake Lambertus in Düsseldorf (symbolic image) © Federico Gambarini/dpa

Tragic swimming accident in Düsseldorf: A 14-year-old drowned on Wednesday in Lake Lambertus in the Kalkum district.

The exact course of the accident is still being determined.

Düsseldorf – On Wednesday afternoon, August 31, there was a tragic swimming accident at Lake Lambertus.

For reasons that have not yet been clarified, a 14-year-old drowned in the popular lake in Düsseldorf.

"At 2:05 p.m., a caller reported to the control center of the Düsseldorf fire brigade via the emergency number 112 that a young person was missing in the area of ​​Lake Lambertus," said the Düsseldorf fire brigade.

14-year-old drowns in Lake Lambertus – 20 meters from the shore

Despite several fire brigade and rescue service units including two diving squadrons, sonar devices, boats and thermal imaging cameras, emergency services from the Duisburg fire brigade and rescue helicopters, the search for the missing person was unsuccessful, reports 24RHEIN.

A total of 43 people were involved in the searcher's search.

"Despite an extensive search by the fire department, the rescue workers were only able to rescue the missing person from the lake after 90 minutes." The body was found around 20 meters from the western shore.

How exactly the tragic accident could have happened is still unclear.

"To determine the course of the accident, the criminal police have started their investigations," the fire brigade continues.

The Lambertus Lake in Dusseldorf

The Lambertus See is located in Düsseldorf - between the districts of Kalkum and Kaiserswerth.

Düsseldorf Airport is only a few kilometers away.

The city of Düsseldorf has banned swimming in Lake Lambertus.

Dusseldorf: Swimming accident at Lambertus See – despite the swimming ban

Particularly tragic: Swimming in Lake Lambertus is forbidden by the city of Düsseldorf.

“Swimming is not allowed in any of the quarry ponds.

Bathing is only allowed where supervision is provided.

In Düsseldorf, this is only the case at Unterbacher See.” The reason: “Caution is required at the Düsseldorf quarry ponds, as they are fed by groundwater.

As a result, their water temperature, shape, depth and shore formation change regularly and drastically,” the city explains.

“Anyone who comes back to a supposedly well-known quarry pond a year later can find completely different conditions there.

The water temperatures are often 'icy' just a few meters from the safe shore,” the statement continues.

Other cities like Cologne also have strict bathing bans.

Swimming accidents in NRW: Lambertus See not an isolated case - brothers drown in Simmerath

"The 14-year-old's companions were still looked after by emergency chaplains.

As a precaution, paramedics transported a companion of the drowned man to a hospital," the fire department said.

The accident at Lake Lambertus is not the first swimming accident in NRW.

Just a few days ago, two brothers (7 and 9) died after a swimming accident in Simmerath.