Overview

• The Leverkusen fire department joined by Cologne and Monheim units deployed eight boats, a helicopter and about 40 firefighters to search for a man in red trunks near Niehler Hafen but called off the 90-minute operation without finding him.
• It remains unclear whether the missing swimmer drowned in the river’s strong current or managed to reach shore on his own.
• A 35-year-old man swimming between Mainz and Wiesbaden triggered a police response that included a helicopter dropping two Rescue Tubes and boats from Hessen and Rheinland-Pfalz before a passing jetski rider pulled him safely ashore.
• Authorities confirmed that shipping traffic was not disrupted during the rescue operation near the Theodor-Heuss-Brücke.
• Cities such as Düsseldorf and Neuss have banned bathing in the Rhine and Cologne is considering similar measures to curb the recent rise in water-related emergencies.