A fisherman experienced anxious minutes on Monday afternoon in Lake Attersee: the 49-year-old, who was out and about with his two dogs in the Litzlberg Bay area, had fallen out of his motorboat into the eleven-degree cold water. The man from the Vöcklabruck district may have lost his balance when he got up. When he fell, he touched the lever of the outboard motor so badly that it fell off idle speed changed to full throttle. The rudder impact made the driverless boat, with the engine running, circle around the man who was floating helplessly in the cold water.
Even before the alarmed emergency boats reached the scene of the accident, a fisherman became aware of the incident through the loud calls for help. He steered his boat to the scene of the accident and pulled the shivering fisherman out of the water. Another witness, who rushed to the scene of the accident in his motorboat, managed to block the ship’s propeller with a rope and thus stop the driverless boat.
Task forces from the Unterach and Weyregg water rescue services took over the accident pilot, who initially had only one concern: his two dogs, who were left alone in the fishing boat. The helpers were able to give the all-clear quickly. The four-legged friends survived the incident without any serious injuries, as did their master, who was taken to the landing stage in Litzlberg. Paramedics from the Red Cross took care of the slightly hypothermic man on the bank, said the Upper Austria water rescue service on Monday afternoon. The wife took care of the two dogs.
Source: Nachrichten
