Despite the storm warning, numerous residents and holidaymakers were on the lakes of Salzburg with boats on Saturday. Nothing will happen, but that didn’t work.
Weather services had predicted storms in Flachgau and Tennengau from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. Some day-trippers on nearby lakes didn’t care. Their behavior kept 70 water rescuers on their toes.
The volunteers had to rescue a boat at Mattsee, among other things, when the storm front rolled in from Bavaria. They were called to Hintersee and Wolfgangsee for further boat rescues.
Panicking with dog on paddleboard
Tourists panicked because of the high waves. Shocked, they left their inflatable and electric boats behind. “They swam to the shore themselves. The most important thing is that no one was injured,” says Herbert Gewolf, regional manager of Salzburg.
In some cases, the water sports enthusiasts themselves made the emergency call, in other cases, passers-by did so. Two stand-up paddlers at the Wiestalstausee even used their mobile phones. They had arrived on an inaccessible coast with a dog on board and could neither move forward nor backward because of the high waves.
Water sports enthusiasts also ignored warning lights
‘It’s getting more and more. “People are becoming more careless,” says Gewolf. In all cases, the excursionists had ignored the weather forecast. “Even on the big lakes, the warning lights were flashing. “They arrive 15 minutes before a storm,” says the state operations manager. According to the experience of Salzburg’s water rescuers, people at the lake increasingly say to themselves: “Nothing will happen.”
Source: Krone
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