Overview
- A 58-year-old man capsized while kayaking on the Wakenitz and disappeared beneath the water despite immediate help from a friend and a passerby who entered the river to assist.
- Rescuers reached the overturned kayak but could not grab the man before he went under and launched a wider search operation.
- Firefighters called in divers from Ratzeburg and were supported by DLRG units and a search drone as crews worked to locate the kayaker.
- Responders found the man’s body about two and a half hours after the incident and handed it to forensic medicine while police investigate the exact cause of death.
- The search drew on multiple local agencies at a time when resources were stretched by a concurrent missing-person response near Travemünde that was later resolved with the person found safe.