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19-year-old tragically drowns: horror discovery in the Rhine-Herne Canal!
Tragic swimming accident in the Rhine-Herne Canal: A 19-year-old drowns while swimming, rescue workers are on duty.
19-year-old tragically drowns: horror discovery in the Rhine-Herne Canal!
A tragic swimming accident caused horrified faces on Saturday evening in the Rhine-Herne Canal in Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia. How Picture According to reports, a 19-year-old jumped into the water with friends and did not resurface. The friends who were with him on the bank immediately alerted the emergency services and a few minutes later a massive operation by the fire brigade, police and water rescue began.
The alarm was received at 9:20 p.m. and it didn't take long for the emergency services to respond. The search was intensified with boats, diving teams, drones and even a police helicopter. Fire department operations manager Nils Hoyermann reported that the search lasted several hours. Ultimately, the young man was found lifeless at the bottom of the canal. An emergency doctor could only determine death.
Responses and emergency pastoral care
On the shore, his friends waited in shock for news while emergency responders were called in to care for them. There is still no clarity about the circumstances of the accident and the police have started an investigation to rule out possible causes and foul play.
The incident is part of a worrying development in Germany, where the number of fatal swimming accidents in inland waters is rising Deutschlandfunk increases annually. The DLRG reports that 411 fatal accidents were recorded in bodies of water last year - 31 more than in 2023. Accidents in lakes, rivers and streams are particularly dangerous, where inadequate supervision and panic among inexperienced swimmers often have fatal consequences.
Comparable incidents and swimming ability of the population
Parallel to this tragic incident, there was another swimming accident in Greven on the same evening, where a 44-year-old went missing in Lake Bockholter. Here too, the situation was life-threatening when rescue workers discovered him lifeless. As in many other cases, the cause of these fatal events remains unclear.
A look at the population's swimming ability shows that, according to the DLRG, around 20% of primary school students could not swim in 2022 - twice as many as five years ago. These numbers are alarming because buoyancy is crucial to acting safely in the water. The closure of many swimming pools and financial bottlenecks for swimming lessons are making the situation even worse.
In a joint appeal, the DLRG is calling for more attention to safety measures and supervision in the water. The tragedy of the last few days should make us all think - not only about the dangers of the waters, but also about the need to learn to swim. In order to be safe in the water, it is essential to learn and internalize this skill.