Frozen water
Siblings found dead in a reservoir in Thuringia
Divers are on duty in a reservoir in southern Thuringia. A pair of siblings probably collapsed on the frozen reservoir and died
© Steffen Ittig/NEWS5/dpa
In Thuringia, a 22-year-old and her 13-year-old brother were found dead in a reservoir – their parents had searched for them and reported them missing. Apparently they had gone onto the ice-covered lake.
In Thuringia, a pair of siblings probably collapsed and died on a slightly frozen reservoir. The 22-year-old and her 13-year-old brother were found dead on Saturday morning by divers from the water reservoir near Westhausen in the Hildburghausen district in the south of the state, police commissioner Vivien Glagau told the German Press Agency. There had been a breach on the reservoir, which was covered with a thin layer of ice. “It was only a short distance from the shore.”
The layer of ice on the lake was only about two to three centimeters thick – not enough to carry the load of two people. It is still unclear when and why the two ran onto the lake. “Whether they wanted to slide ice – we don’t know,” said Glagau.
Siblings from Thuringia were last seen alive on Friday afternoon
According to the police, the two had been traveling by car on Friday. Accordingly, they were last seen around 4 p.m.
When the young woman and her brother didn’t answer the phone, the worried parents first went looking for their children themselves. Shortly before midnight, the mother then alerted the police: they had discovered their daughter’s car at the reservoir.
The police and lifeguards then searched for the siblings in large numbers. A police dog was also on duty. Divers finally recovered the woman and the boy on Saturday morning around 8.30 a.m. – both lifeless.
“We assume an accident,” said Glagau. There are currently no signs of third-party debt. The Kripo Suhl leads the further investigations into the accident.
The parents could not initially be questioned in detail. They were cared for by a crisis intervention team. According to the police, the family comes from the Hildburghausen district.
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