Fire brigade rescued three capsized canoeists from the Inn

The Schärding fire department was called out at 6:59 p.m. together with the Wernstein am Inn and Neuhaus fire departments to rescue a person from the Inn. All three people were able to escape to the bank a few kilometers downstream and waited there for the emergency services. They were driven back to Neuhaus by the Schärding and Neuhaus emergency boats, and the boat was also towed away.

“Especially at the beginning, the situation was very unclear because the exact number of people was not known. Fortunately, when we arrived at the scene of the accident, it turned out that all of the victims had already reached the safe shore,” said Franz Haas, head of operations at the Schärding fire department.

“Doing sports on the Inn when the water is slightly high is definitely negligent and we must strongly advise against it. The three people were not equipped with life jackets, nor did they have sufficient knowledge of the Inn. During such rescue operations, the emergency services also put themselves in danger – such situations definitely should not occur,” said fire chief Markus Furtner.

In addition to the fire brigades, the police, the Red Cross with emergency doctors from Upper Austria and Bavaria, and the Austrian water rescue service were also on duty. The Schärding fire brigade was on duty with 5 vehicles, 2 boats and 31 men.