Mediterranean Sea
Tragedy off Mallorca: missing sailors are dead
The Spanish sea rescue team searched for the German sailors with ships and helicopters. photo
© Salvamento Maritimo/dpa
The last spark of hope has gone out: the two German sailors who disappeared in the Mediterranean off Mallorca three weeks ago are dead. However, one question remains unanswered.
The bodies could no longer be identified visually, but a DNA analysis now provided the sad confirmation: the two were dead at the end of August German sailors who disappeared off Mallorca in the Mediterranean are dead.
The bodies recovered in the sea off the east coast of the Spanish Mediterranean island at the beginning of September are those of the father and son who were reported missing on August 27th after they were traveling on a sailing boat from Menorca to Mallorca, said the Spanish police unit Guardia Civil (Civil Guard).
The bodies were identified using DNA analysis in collaboration with the German authorities, according to the police’s brief statement. The fact that there was still a last spark of hope before this result was announced is proven, among other things, by the fact that the Spanish sea rescue service only officially declared the search for the two sailors over on Monday.
Set sail despite storm warning
The two bodies were recovered from the sea off the east coast of Mallorca on September 4th and 5th. According to the Mallorcan authorities, visual identification of the remains was no longer possible at that time.
The Germans from the Frankfurt area – a 53-year-old man and his 19-year-old son – set out to sea in their nine-meter-long boat “Makan Angin” on August 27th, despite a severe weather warning that had been in place for days. They wanted to cross from Cala Galdana on Menorca to Cala d’Or on Mallorca, 90 kilometers away. On the same day, a relative in Germany raised the alarm after contact with the two had broken off.
A major search operation was quickly initiated: on the so-called Menorca Canal between the two Balearic islands, the sea rescue team used ships, planes and helicopters to look for the missing people for days. All boats in the area were also asked to take part in the search if possible. In the end, it was walkers who saw the bodies floating in the sea from a distance and alerted the authorities. High waves made rescue difficult in both cases. These only arrive the day after they were discovered by passers-by. According to authorities, one of the two victims was only wearing swimming trunks.
Father was considered an experienced skipper
After weeks of uncertainty, relatives and friends can now mourn the victims. But one question remains unanswered: Why did the Germans ignore the storm warning? The Spanish weather service had already warned days earlier of a violent storm with gale force winds and high waves, which then swept over the Balearic Islands on the morning of that tragic Sunday. According to media reports, the father in particular was considered an experienced skipper.
The “Mallorca Zeitung” asked the German sailing expert Martin Muth about this: “For me, the only explanation is that they were lying in a bay on the cliff coast of Menorca without internet reception and therefore did not notice the storm warnings,” says the author and editor of the guide for Water sports enthusiasts “Portbook Mallorca Menorca Ibiza Formentera”. Whether this assumption is correct will probably never be found out.