Overview

• Five individuals, aged 35 to 72, were injured during a Maibaum-raising event in Rheurdt-Saelhuysen, two of them severely.
• One severely injured person was airlifted to a clinic in Cologne, while the other injured were treated in local hospitals; no life-threatening injuries have been reported.
• The Maibaum, erected as part of the Schützenbruderschaft St.-Martinus-Quirinus Saelhuysen-Finkenberg 1550's 475th anniversary, broke during the manual raising process.
• Police and emergency responders arrived promptly, with criminal police launching an investigation that currently treats the incident as an accident.
• While celebrations continued in other German communities under safety measures, the fate of Rheurdt's planned jubilee events remains uncertain.