At around 10.30 p.m. last night, walkers discovered an apparently seriously injured person on the beach in front of the cliffs on the highlands in the north of the island of Hiddensee. They alerted the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Bremen. The lifeboat "Nausikaa" immediately set out from Vitte and the cruiser "Theo Fischer" from Darßer Ort. A Northern Helicopter helicopter stationed on Rügen was deployed to provide support, as were the volunteer fire brigades of the Baltic Sea island and the German Life Saving Association.
The DGzRS describes the situation as follows: "The scene of the accident was in an impassable stretch of beach that is very difficult to access from the highlands. When the 'Nausikaa' arrived off the steep coast, the sea rescuers launched a rubber dinghy they had taken with them. This was the only way a volunteer emergency doctor and two rescuers could make the last few metres to the shore over the rocky seabed. There, the volunteer emergency doctor first stabilised the seriously injured skipper. It was impossible to transport the sailor over the steep coast. The helicopter crew therefore winched the man up lying on a stretcher at around 1 a.m. and flew him to hospital."
The 53-year-old skipper suffered serious head injuries when he ran aground not far from the Dornbusch lighthouse in the north-west of the Baltic Sea island. He had already been reported missing on Tuesday, 7 July. The day before, he had set off south of Copenhagen in his sailing boat, which was about ten metres long. His destination was Nakskov on the west coast of the Danish island of Lolland. However, he never arrived there.
The skipper explained that he had become seasick en route and that his boat's engine was no longer working properly. He then sent out several distress signals, without success. His boat drifted on the Baltic Sea and presumably ran aground on the cliffs on Wednesday. Despite his injuries, he was able to leave the yacht and save himself on the beach. However, because his means of communication had failed, he was unable to draw attention to his plight.
