Update: Motorboat stranded in the Rhine - successful recovery with special crane

A motorboat has been stuck on a shoal in the Rhine near Rüdesheim since 10 August and nothing moved - until this morning. A floating crane was used to free the stuck boat. The salvage operation started at 9 a.m. and lasted several hours. After the salvage operation, the pleasure craft was transported to the harbour in Bingen in Rhineland-Palatinate, which is opposite Rüdesheim. There it will be checked whether the boat is still watertight.

As the Rhine Waterways and Shipping Authority (WSA) in Bingen reported to various media, the boat could not be salvaged for the time being. The reason for this was that the boat threatened to break apart during a salvage attempt. The two skippers from the Berlin area had run aground on the shoal with the approximately 13 metre long pleasure craft and were unable to free themselves under their own power.

Accident on the Rhine without injuries

The two middle-aged skippers from the Berlin area had too little local knowledge and had been travelling too carelessly in the higher water levels at the time. There were no injuries in the incident. The two men initially wanted to stay on their damaged boat, but decided to change their minds after several hours. The German Life Saving Association (DLRG) finally brought them to shore in a rubber dinghy.

It also became known on Thursday that the two men had already become conspicuous before the accident. It is possible that they were under the influence of alcohol.

More on the subject of salvage:

• Baltic Sea storm surge: The salvage of the boats by professionals
• Charter: Emergency call from the charter yacht - who pays for the rescue?
• Lake Constance: Wreck of the "Lady Jay" discovered after 14 years

Initial safety measures that have been taken

The run aground motorboat was initially secured with its own anchor and later with an additional anchor. It is lying on the shoal far away from the navigation channel of the large inland vessels. Various media reported that the two owners were unable to fulfil the financial framework for the salvage, which is why the whole process would be delayed.

Since the incident, numerous onlookers have been photographing the stranded boat from the shore and from the nearby Rüdesheim-Bingen ferry.