Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

WEATHER

Fatal Rhine accident triggers warning for swimmers

Entering the water in the hot summer months can have fatal consequences, and young men in particular are at risk of disregarding swimming rules at the cost of their lives.

Published: 4 June 2019 12:46 CEST
Updated: 4 June 2019 17:04 CEST
Fatal Rhine accident triggers warning for swimmers
Rescue workers at Silbersee II in North Rhine-Westphalia. Photo: DPA

Following the first deadly swimming accidents of the year, the German Lifesaving Society (die Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft, or DLRG), reiterated basic rules of conduct for outdoor swimming on Tuesday.

On Thursday, a dinghy capsized on the Rhine in the Alsace region of France. Two of the boat’s occupants died, as did a 22-year-old man who entered the water to try and save the victims. A young girl from Baden-Württemberg remains missing. Furthermore, four people have died in Germany in swimming accidents over the weekend.

READ ALSO: Search for four-year-old German girl missing after boat accident in France

DLRG representative, Achim Wiese in Bad Nenndorf near Hannover, emphasized that “the first piece of advice is to heed basic swimming rules.”

Wiese highlighted that there is a swimming ban in place along all of the Rhine. 

Even an adult would have significant difficulty emerging from the Rhine’s currents, “how then, could a four-year old child, who cannot even swim, manage at all?”

Justifiably, these basic rules also include not swimming where there is shipping traffic and not swimming under the influence of alcohol, as well as ensuring that you cool off before entering the water on hot days.

According to Wiese, if you swim after consuming alcohol, you are at risk of losing your sense of direction. Swimming in hot weather, and jumping straight into the water without first cooling off, threatens the possibility of circulatory collapse. Jumping from bridges or from pathways along the coast is also dangerous, he added.

It is young men in particular who are at the highest risk of water-related accidents. Wiese highlighted that almost 80 percent of drowning victims are men, and, above all, young men. This group often overestimates their own abilities, and underestimates the danger.

In 2018 at least 504 people in Germany died following swimming accidents, the DLRG said in a report at the end of February.

The organization will present its new annual report on Thursday.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

WEATHER

Severe weather warnings issued as Germany braces for more storms

Extreme weather warnings for heavy rainfall remain in place in parts of Germany on Friday following flooding in the south. There is also a chance of thunderstorms at the weekend.

Published: 17 May 2024 10:37 CEST
Severe weather warnings issued as Germany braces for more storms

Severe weather is expected in the southwest of the country on Friday, with the heaviest rain expected in Saarbrücken, as well as the surrounding areas of Saarland and southern Rhineland-Palatinate.

In these areas Germany’s weather service (DWD) has level 4 warnings in place – meaning that the rain is expected to be extremely heavy (more than 40 litres per square metre in an hour, or 60 litres per square metre in 6 hours).

Slightly less severe, but still heavy continuous rain can also be expected in the surrounding regions, extending as far as Stuttgart and Mainz.

Speaking to Bild newspaper, Climatologist Dr. Karsten Brandt suggested that the heavy precipitation and thunderstorms will continue to move northwest, even into southern North-Rhine Westphalia (Aachen).

There are also wind warnings in parts of the country, with squalls expected on the Brocken and the Fichtelberg mountains, as well as in the Black Forest and in the Alps.

Currently, the highest wind warnings are in Dresden and southern Bavaria near the Alps.

Friday’s weather warnings come in the wake of chaotic weather that flooded Nuremberg and parts of Bavaria Thursday night, where many roads flooded. Cars were submerged in water and bus routes were cancelled.

A number of household cellars also flooded as well as a large underground car park at the Technical University.

READ ALSO: Record heat deaths and floods – How Germany is being hit by climate change

What will the weekend bring?

Beyond the area of severe weather warnings but not beyond the reach of the storm, Cologne will have some rain on Friday which may continue on through the weekend.

Germany’s northern and eastern regions have dodged the recent bout of storms so far, but in Berlin scattered thunderstorms can be expected to move in by Sunday afternoon. This may put a dampener on the Karneval der Kulturen parade. 

In Bremen and Hamburg, residents can expect some rain showers on Sunday and Monday, with a chance of thunderstorms as well.

In Munich and Nuremberg, it looks as if the worst is over. Some small showers may continue into Saturday, but Bavarian residents can look forward to a sunny Sunday ahead of the public holiday on Monday for Pentecost. 

READ ALSO:

SHOW COMMENTS