The almost 170 passengers probably had imagined this excursion differently: On the way from Breisach to Düsseldorf, their ship hit a groyne.
For 166 passengers on a small river cruise ship, the journey across the Rhine from Baden-Württemberg to North Rhine-Westphalia has come to an abrupt end. Presumably because of a driving error, the ship stranded on a groyne near Rheinstetten (Karlsruhe district) on Tuesday night.
This is a stone construction in the river, with the help of which the flow speed is supposed to be reduced. Depending on the water level, the stone wall can be below the water surface. A woman was slightly injured in the accident around midnight. The police took her overboard, rescue workers took care of the injured. The other passengers stayed on board.
A cargo ship towed the ship free in the morning and then brought it to the Iffezheim lock (Rastatt district), as a spokesman for the police headquarters said. Divers should check there whether everything is okay on the ship. It was initially impossible to estimate how long this would take. If the experts give the green light, the passenger cabin ship can continue to Düsseldorf.
According to the information, it had started in Breisach on the German-French border and belonged to a shipping company from Switzerland. The spokesman was unable to give any details about the passengers.
No obvious damage was initially known, but the police were not yet able to provide any information about the extent of the damage in the morning. With the exception of a ban on meeting and overtaking in the area of the accident site, shipping was not affected.
