Boating accident: Sports boat sinks after collision - man drowns, woman survives

According to the waterway police, an inland goods vessel and a pleasure craft collided at around 11 a.m. in the Rodenbeck district. A 70-year-old man was on the pleasure craft with his 68-year-old wife when the collision occurred. The pleasure craft capsized, while the woman was able to swim to shore. Divers from the fire brigade later rescued the lifeless man from the boat, but resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful. The woman was taken to hospital.

It became known that the couple were travelling east by motorboat. After an overnight stay in the marina in Hahlen near Minden, the boat trip was to be continued on May Day. Shortly after leaving the harbour, the pleasure craft collided with an unladen 80-metre inland waterway vessel which, according to the police, was travelling from Osnabrück towards Aachen. According to witnesses, there have already been several dangerous situations at this point in the past when entering the Mittelland Canal. Before the collision, a barge is said to have sounded its horn for an unusually long time. After the collision, the barge pushed the pleasure craft several hundred metres with it, pushing it under water. The rules for such a waterway state that commercial shipping always has right of way and that the main fairway has priority over the harbour exit or a secondary route.

More about the Mittelland Canal:

• The Mittelland Canal
• Mittelland Canal - 325 km

Short-term closure of the Mittelland Canal

Due to the recovery of the pleasure craft, the Mittelland Canal was closed until the evening on May Day. The Duisburg waterway police are still investigating. The local fire brigade is also complaining about numerous rubberneckers who are said to have obstructed the rescue operation. This is considered a criminal offence and rubberneckers face a fine of up to 1000 euros - or even a prison sentence - depending on the situation and the offence.