Two men drown in separate Bavarian lake incidents on Friday afternoon
A 23-year-old man drowned in Starnberger See after jumping from a boat, while a 68-year-old Swiss national died in Chiemsee after entering the water from an electric boat.
Two men died in separate drowning incidents on Bavarian lakes on Friday afternoon, prompting a safety warning from the regional water rescue service.
Starnberger See incident
A 23-year-old man drowned in Starnberger See after jumping from a boat. A 26-year-old man also jumped from the same boat but was able to swim to another vessel, according to a police spokesperson. Several witnesses attempted to rescue the younger man from the water but were unsuccessful. Divers later recovered his body at a depth of approximately eight metres. The Fürstenfeldbruck criminal police are investigating.
Chiemsee incident
A 68-year-old Swiss national died in Chiemsee on Friday afternoon. He had been travelling on an electric boat with a relative when he entered the water to swim. The circumstances of how he got into the water remain unclear. His companion lost sight of him shortly afterwards. Beachgoers alerted emergency services, and DLRG and Wasserwacht personnel found the man lifeless in the water during the evening. An emergency doctor could only pronounce him dead. The Traunstein criminal police are investigating but currently see no evidence of third-party involvement, treating the case as a tragic accident.
Water safety warning
Thomas Huber, the state chairman of the Wasserwacht Bayern, cautioned that open water is not a swimming pool. He noted that distance, cold, exhaustion, or a brief moment of uncertainty can quickly become life-threatening.
Open waters are not swimming pools.
More than a dozen people have died while bathing in Bavaria so far this year.
