In distress at sea: Two people cling to a buoy after capsizing

A capsized motorboat, two people in the cold water of the Elbe: last Thursday, the fire brigade and DLRG rescued two people to safety during an operation at buoy 108. A research vessel got ahead of the casualties.

The control centre alerted the emergency services to an emergency on the Elbe on Thursday afternoon. According to information from the DLRG, a motorboat around 3.5 metres long had capsized in the area of buoy 108. Both occupants were adrift in the water. But the two were lucky. After capsizing, they were able to hold on to buoy 108, one of the Elbe's fairway buoys.

This allowed them to stay afloat until help arrived. According to the DLRG, this came from the "Atair", a research vessel that was already in the vicinity. It was the first to reach the scene of the accident and took the two people on board.

DLRG tows capsized boat to Haseldorf

When the Stade fire brigade arrived with their rescue boat, they picked up the rescued men. They took them to the Stadersand rescue station - a mooring point on the south bank of the Elbe in the district of Stade. While the two people were being rescued, the DLRG Stade took care of the damaged vehicle. The emergency services righted the approximately 3.5 metre long motorboat, took it in tow and brought it to the harbour in Haseldorf.

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Elbe: Challenging area for small boats

The Elbe between Stade and Haseldorf is one of the busiest stretches of the tidal Elbe. Strong currents, changing water levels due to the tidal range and traffic with large cargo ships make the area challenging for small leisure boats.