Diving accident in Starnberger See

Last Monday, an accident involving four divers occurred in Lake Starnberger See located in Upper Bavaria. Three helicopters, an ambulance as well as water rescuers and the DLRG (German Lifesaving Society) were involved in the rescue operation. Two divers were transported to hospital. Preliminary findings indicate that no one was killed and the lives of the injured are not in danger.

At around 1pm, four men – a German and three Russians – were diving together at a depth of 30 metres at a site known as the Allmannshauser wall. At one point, one of the divers made an emergency ascent which resulted in serious injuries. As he complained of severe pain after surfacing, the ambulance staff decided to transport the 51-year-old, accompanied by a doctor, by helicopter to the Unfallklinik hospital in Murnau.

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The second of the injured men, a 37-year-old who surfaced just behind his partner, was taken to hospital by ambulance for precautionary reasons. The other pair of divers were unharmed and did not require hospitalisation.

Starnberger See is the fourth largest lake in Germany with a maximum depth of 127.7 metres. It can be said that tragic stories have been connected to it for centuries. It was in its waters that King Ludwig II of Bavaria, deprived of his throne by conspirators and imprisoned in nearby Berg Castle, died on 13 June 1886. Together with the king, his psychiatrist Bernhard von Gudden died.

Since 1994, around 20 people have died in this body of water and 40 others have been injured while diving. Among others, a 50-year-old diver died here last year. The Allmannshauser wall drops vertically down to a depth of 80 m, just below the deepest point in the lake. It is located on the eastern shore of the lake and is regarded as an extremely dangerous place.

Source: sueddeutsche.de, merkur.de