One of the most spectacular operations in the almost 150-year history of the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (DGzRS) 6 December 2011 marked the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the British steamer "Ondo" on the "Großer Vogelsand" in the Elbe estuary on St Nicholas' Day 1961. Sea rescuers pulled the 65 crew members from the ship in several difficult attempts. Remains of the wreck of the "Ondo" are still silent witnesses to the mighty power of the sea.
In a severe south-westerly storm with winds up to hurricane force, the "Ondo" was wrecked on 6 December 1961 on the "Großer Vogelsand" ran aground in the Elbe estuary. A complex and sometimes dangerous rescue operation quickly got underway. Those involved spared no effort: in some cases, the sea rescuers risked their own lives in an attempt to prevent the worst from happening. Despite all their efforts: Three seamen remained at sea after the accident.
Pilots had tried to board the "Ondo" in order to steer it onto a safer course than the one it had taken. In order not to endanger the men with the ship's propeller, the "Ondo" turned and ran aground on a sandbank. However, she did not break up, as experts had feared, but drifted further and further onto the sand.
After unsuccessful attempts to tow the ship free, the rescue cruiser "Ruhr-Stahl" from the Cuxhaven station of the DGzRS rescued the crew of the "Ondo": 51 Englishmen and 14 German stevedores. The sometimes extremely risky and dangerous endeavours to get the English sailors off the "Ondo" in repeated attempts lasted a total of six days.
The three pilots, on the other hand, had drifted off with their transfer boat in heavy seas while trying to reach the "Ondo". Their boat had apparently capsized afterwards. There was no rescue for them. The grinding sand of the "Großer Vogelsand" held the "Ondo" permanently so that the ship could never be salvaged. The wreck still lies in the area where the accident occurred in 1961. Remains of the ship rise visibly out of the ground when the water level is low - as a silent reminder of the great shipwreck 50 years ago.
