On Whit Monday, a young man drowned while swimming in Unterschleißheimer See. According to water rescue spokeswoman Daniela Haupt, it is the first fatal swimming accident in and around Munich this year. The almost eight-hectare bathing lake near Riedmoos in the Munich district is between nine and 14 meters deep. The casualty was quickly located under water with a sonar device, but any help came too late for him.
The 23-year-old was bathing with several family members. The thermometer showed 23 degrees on Monday. At 7:45 p.m., the father reported his son missing at the lake via an emergency call. The young man was observed 25 meters from the shore. Then he was gone and never returned to his family.
This meant a major alarm for the rescue workers of the Red Cross water rescue service, the German Life Saving Society (DLRG) and the fire brigade. A helicopter rose and the DLRG used its newly acquired hand-held sonar to locate the person under water. At around 8:45 p.m., an emergency doctor could only determine the death of the 23-year-old. A crisis intervention team was requested at the start of the operation to look after his family.
Executives from the DLRG Munich-Mitte and the district water rescue service in Munich tested the new “underwater scanner” at Munich’s Fasaneriesee just last September. The “Aqua-Eye” can recognize and locate people under water with modern sonar technology and artificial intelligence. According to the manufacturer, the device can be used to search up to 8,000 square meters of water in around five minutes. The water rescue service, which maintains nine bases in and around Munich, will also get such a device this summer.
Four weeks ago, a 15-year-old from Munich died in a mountain stream south of Lenggries. Forces specializing in canyon rescue rescued the young dead from a depth of 1.5 meters in the Walchenklamm on the Sylvenstein reservoir.