22-year-old man missing and presumed drowned after night swim in Hamburg's Elbe River
A 22-year-old man is missing and presumed drowned after entering the Elbe River with his brother and a friend late Saturday evening in Hamburg-Blankenese. Two swimmers were rescued, but the man could not be found despite a large search operation.
The incident
On Saturday evening, a 22-year-old man went into the Elbe River at Hamburg-Blankenese with his brother and a friend, near the wreck of the "MS Uwe." The group got into difficulty around 22:30, when the 22-year-old became distressed and the other two tried to help.
Rescue and search
Over 60 personnel from Hamburg's fire brigade and the German Life Saving Association (DLRG) deployed boats, drones, divers and rescue swimmers. The brother and friend were pulled from the water, but the missing man could not be found in the dark. The search was stopped at 0:40, and the 22-year-old is presumed drowned. A crisis intervention team cared for the companions on site.
- Fire brigade alerted about three people in the Elbe near Blankenese.
- Search operation ended; 22-year-old swimmer remains missing, presumed drowned.
Persistent danger in the Elbe
Swimming in the Elbe is prohibited and extremely dangerous because of unpredictable undercurrents and heavy ship traffic. The Hamburg Environment Agency had issued a fresh warning just two days before this incident, on Thursday.
The unpredictable undercurrents, which are further intensified by ship traffic, are regularly underestimated and pose an acute danger to life even for experienced swimmers.
The agency urged people to use official bathing areas and to check up-to-date water quality reports before entering any water.
Heatwave and water safety
Northern Germany is in the grip of a heatwave, and low water levels combined with rising temperatures have reduced oxygen levels in smaller surface waters. The environmental agency has temporarily banned water extraction from those water bodies and warned against feeding waterfowl, which can increase nutrient loads and degrade water quality further.
Recent tragedies at the same spot
The stretch of river at Blankenese has a grim history. In August 2024, a 10-year-old girl drowned at the Falkensteiner Ufer in front of her parents, triggering a massive but unsuccessful search. In 2023, a 15-year-old boy drowned at the same location, and his body was found only a week later. Just weeks before that, a 16-year-old also died while swimming in the Elbe.
