When the four children aged two, six, eight and nine and their father were playing in the water on a popular local beach on Tuesday evening, a tanker passing and then anchoring probably developed such a pull that the whole family was in great distress came, reported Wesseling’s fire chief André Bach on Wednesday.
“It was extremely close and could have ended badly. Thank God everyone is better, but they are still in the hospital,” said Bach. He happened to be nearby and was there quickly. Many thanks also go to the first responders who were on the beach and intervened immediately, Bach explained.
According to him, the father and the youngest child were pulled under the water by the suction. The other three playing children also got into trouble. Somehow the father then managed to find and save the two-year-old child under water. In the meantime, the man had been unconscious, said Bach. Nobody had to be resuscitated. Finally, all five people were rescued by the emergency services. After initial treatment by emergency doctors and rescue workers, the family came to a clinic. About 20 firefighters were at the scene. Bach: “The assignment was very stressful for everyone, even if it ended well.”
In view of the numerous emergencies in water bodies in the past few weeks, the fire department council once again warned against swimming or bathing in the Rhine. The river can be life-threatening because of the currents and shipping traffic. The current low water doesn’t change that.
Source: Nachrichten
