Bathing drama on the Danube: 21-year-old from Afghanistan missing!

Bathing drama on the Danube: 21-year-old from Afghanistan missing!

Donau bei der Schwechat-Mündung, Niederösterreich, Österreich - A tragic bathing accident occurred on June 12, 2025 on the Danube at the Schwechat estuary in Lower Austria. A 21-year-old asylum seeker from Afghanistan went down after swimming about 50 meters into the water. Witnesses observed the incident and immediately alerted the rescue workers, which triggered a great deal.

In the result, a comprehensive search was organized in which numerous emergency services were involved. Nine voluntary fire brigades from the Bruck and Gänserndorf districts, divers of the Vienna professional fire brigade and an ÖAMTC emergency helicopter were deployed. Polichelikopter supported from the air, while the Red Cross and the Johanniter accident aid were also on site with ambulances.

search action and emergency services

The search area stretched between the mouth of the Schwechat into the Danube to Hainburg. The intensive search took two hours, but had to be broken off without success, which made the situation particularly tragic. A crisis intervention team from the Red Cross was at witnesses and a relative to offer support. The young man lived in the BBU asylum container village at Schwechat Airport and could not swim.

The incident throws a worrying light on safety when bathing in Austria. In the current summer bathroom season there was an alarming increase in fatal bathing accidents. According to a report by the KFV, at least 32 people in Austria have already drowned until July 26, 2023. This represents a significant increase compared to the previous year when 19 drowned people were counted by the end of July 2022.

increase in bathing accidents in Austria

The Upper Austria is particularly affected with at least seven drowned people, followed by Carinthia with five, while in Lower Austria, Salzburg and Styria, at least four people drowned. Dr. Johanna Trauner-Karner from the KFV warns that the number of drowned people could be almost doubled by the end of the year if the current dynamic continues. An important reason for this concern for this concern is the lack of swimming lessons during corona pandemic, which means that about 10 % of 5 to 19 year olds cannot swim.

The tragic incident on the Danube is not isolated. In 2022, a total of 37 people died in drowning accidents in Austria, the highest number since 2016. In order to increase security when swimming, the KFV recommends that swimming boys to be carried, not to swim alone and always supervise children in the immediate vicinity.

This unfortunate event is another alarming indication of the importance of swimming and security measures when bathing to prevent further tragedies.

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