Several die in Germany in accidents over hot weekend

Several people have lost their lives in swiming accidents over the weekend in Germany as the country experienced hot summer weather. Some others in distress were rescued, including two toddlers.

In the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a 62-year-old man was discovered lifeless in a lake by a lifeguard and immediately brought ashore, said a police spokeswoman. Together with a doctor who happened to be present, the lifeguard attempted resuscitation. However, these efforts were unsuccessful.

In Rostock's city harbour in the same state, passers-by found a person near the ferry terminal floating lifeless in the water. Paramedics called to the scene could only retrieve the body of the bikini-clad woman. According to initial findings, there was no indication of a violent death for the 27-year-old, said a spokesman for the water police.

In Hildesheim in the northern state of Lower Saxony, an 84-year-old man died in an accident while operating a remote-controlled model boat on a local lake known as the Hohensee. The police reported that the boat presumably got entangled in aquatic plants, prompting the man to enter the lake, where he got stuck underwater near the boat. Divers retrieved his body 50 minutes later.

Emergency services of the German Lifesaving Association (DLRG) saved a 17-year-old girl from the Baltic Sea at Graal Müritz beach, also in in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The local girl had gone swimming after dark with her boyfriend, who shortly afterwards lost sight of her and reported her missing, said a spokesman for the rescue service.

With the help of a drone equipped with a thermal imaging camera, the young woman was located about 100 metres from the shore. A lifeguard then brought her ashore largely unharmed.