Rescue helicopter crew frees vacationer from mudflats
Rescue workers used a rescue helicopter to free a tourist from the mudflats off Butjadingen in the district of Wesermarsch. The 40-year-old vacationer from North Rhine-Westphalia was slightly injured, police said on Wednesday. She was taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia. The woman had set off on foot into the North Sea at low tide. However, she was then surprised by the rising tide and trapped by the rising water. When the 40-year-old realized that she could no longer reach the shore on her own, she called the emergency services, the police said.
The officers took the case as an opportunity to once again warn people not to go into the mudflats alone. There have already been several such cases for the coastal rescue services this year. Just a month ago, emergency services in the municipality of Butjadingen had to use a helicopter and a boat to rescue a family of four from the mudflats when the water was rising. At the beginning of October, a rescue helicopter in the East Frisian town of Norddeich pulled a hiker stuck on a winch out of the mudflats.
The woman's call to the emergency services prevented a potential tragedy, as mudflat emergencies can quickly become life-threatening due to rising tides. This incident serves as a reminder for visitors to exercise caution and never venture into the mudflats alone, given the history of emergency situations in the area.
Source: www.dpa.com
