Emmanuel Thomas, DPA, Tuesday, May 30, 2023
BONN – A 36-year-old father and his 7-year-old son have died in a bathing accident on the Rhine river, a spokesman for the Bonn police said on Tuesday morning.
According to the fire department, the child was recovered an hour after getting into trouble in the water, and the father after a further 40 minutes. Emergency teams tried to resuscitate them but they were later declared dead.
The 7-year-old and a 4-year-old sibling were river bathing in Bornheim to the north-west of Bonn. When the two non-swimmers got into trouble, their father – also a non-swimmer – jumped in to save them.
The younger child made it back to the shore, while the older sibling and the father went under. Relatives on the bank called emergency services.
A large contingent of 170 rescue workers from the fire department, the German Life Saving Society (DLRG) and the water rescue service as well as rescue workers from the air searched for the two.
“We strongly advise against swimming and bathing in large rivers such as the Rhine,” a spokesman for the German Lifesaving Society (DLRG) said on Tuesday.
According to the DLRG, fatal bathing accidents mainly occur in lakes and rivers. Over the past long weekend there were at least five fatal accidents in Germany.
The DLRG spokesman wrote that bathing accidents are often caused by carelessness, for example by underestimating the dangers of currents. In rivers like the Rhine, even experienced swimmers often cannot cope with the dangerous currents. In addition, there is a high risk of accidents due to shipping, bridges and weirs.
According to the DLRG at least 355 people drowned in Germany last year, 56 more than in 2021.
