After a 51-year-old became stranded while paddling on a gravel island in the flood-bearing Große Rodl near Ottensheim (Upper Austria) on Monday, several passers-by initially passed him. Only another hiker asked the water sports enthusiast if he needed help.
A 51-year-old from the Urfahr area overturned his kayak on a tributary of the Danube, the Große Rodl, on Monday. The water sports enthusiast had paddled downstream from the toboggan pool in Walding towards Ottensheim.
The man then lost the paddle at an old weir. He was able to hold the overturned kayak and reach safety on a gravel island. Due to the strong current he could not reach the coast under his own power.
Several passersby passed by
At first there seemed to be no Christmas help: several passers-by reportedly walked past the helpless 51-year-old. Finally, a passerby asked if the stranded man needed help – and when he said yes, he alerted emergency services.
“We helped him with the help of a rescue ladder. We threw him the lifebuoy and then he came back to us,” said Andreas Grilnberger, commander of the Walding volunteer fire brigade. His FF was deployed with 25 men. “The operation took about fifteen minutes,” Grilnberger said. The 51-year-old was unharmed.
Source: Krone
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