Distress at sea: Major operation on the Elbe and burning ships in the north
Morten Strauch
· 10.06.2024
According to reports from BILD and SHZ, a sailor fell into the Elbe off Kollmar on Sunday afternoon. A witness had seen the incident and reported it immediately, which led to a large-scale rescue operation. A total of 50 rescue teams travelled to the river. The area from Kollmar towards Glückstadt was searched for the missing man using 20 DLRG boats and several fire brigades. A rescue helicopter was also deployed.
Then came the great relief: the skipper, who was wearing a lifejacket, was able to rescue himself back onto his boat. A lifeboat took the boat alongside and brought it to Kollmar harbour. The man was taken to hospital for a more detailed examination. A woman who was on the sailing boat with him was uninjured. This was confirmed to YACHT by the Cuxhaven water police. It is said that the man was caught by a gust of wind while cleaning his sailing boat and went overboard.
Two-master on fire at the Flensburg museum shipyard
A fire broke out on a two-masted vessel in Flensburg on Thursday evening. According to the SHZ, emergency services from the professional fire brigade and the Klues volunteer fire brigade were called to Flensburg harbour at around 19:45. There was a fire inside an almost 13 metre long two-master, the owner of which had been carrying out welding work when the fire broke out. Apparently a spark had strayed into an area underneath the ship's engine and possibly ignited a small amount of old fuel there.
No one was injured in the fire. The owner had tried to put out the fire himself, but had to abandon the ship due to the heavy smoke. He had only bought the ship, which was built in Holland in 1981, last year and now wanted to completely restore it. It is not yet possible to estimate the extent of the damage caused by the fire. The fire brigade proceeded with extreme caution during the extinguishing work so as not to pump too much water into the hull of the ship. The operation was brought to an end at around 20:45.
Motorboat on fire in Eckernförde
At around 2.45 a.m. on Friday night, a fire was discovered on a motorboat in the Eckernförde marina. As reported by Kieler Nachrichten, the Eckernförde volunteer fire brigade arrived with a fire engine and a special equipment vehicle. The operation ended at 4.30 am. An oil barrier was set up as a precautionary measure, but no operating materials such as oil or petrol were reported to have leaked.
According to the water police, the fire was probably caused by a technical defect. Fortunately, there were no injuries here either, but the boat was so badly damaged that it can be assumed to be a total loss. The new price is said to have been around 50,000 euros. The extent of the damage to the two neighbouring boats in the inner harbour was not yet known. In order to minimise the environmental impact of the extinguishing foam, the burnt-out boat has now been removed from the water.
