Germany: Teenager Drowned in River

G

George1959

Well-known Member
Some days ago a 16 year old female teenager drowned in the river Erft in North Rhine-Westfalia. The teenagers wanted to make TikTok videos.
The girl named Beatrice was sitting on a friend's shoulders. He lost his balance and both fell into the muddy water of the river Erft. She couldn't swim, sank down and did not resurface.

Drama in NRW: Beatrice ertrank bei einem Video-Dreh im Fluss

For this reason please make sure your grandchildren and great-grandchildren know how to swim!
 
Sadly, these things happen every year. You really have to know your rivers. For example, the Thames is tidal, and if you get caught in the water at certain times you can be (and people are) dragged along and drowned. People also drown in the likes of gravel pits for various reasons. Learning how to swim is certainly a good skill to have, but you also need common sense.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
Unfortunately I donā€™t speak German.
May the deceased rest in peace.
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I summarized it. The rest of the text is that her parents are devastated. They visited the place and her father jumped into the water. I don't know if he wanted to commit suicide, since it isn't mentioned.

It is possible that your browser can translate it.

My point was that all children must learn at a young age how to swim. As far as I know there are even swimming lessons for infants. Decades ago a friend of mine heard of such an accident among his relatives. After this he taught his daughter at pre-school age how to swim. Later she even did competitions at school.
 
VaughanJB said:
Sadly, these things happen every year. You really have to know your rivers. For example, the Thames is tidal, and if you get caught in the water at certain times you can be (and people are) dragged along and drowned. People also drown in the likes of gravel pits for various reasons. Learning how to swim is certainly a good skill to have, but you also need common sense.
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The last sentence is most important. It depends on the situation. Last winter a family with a boy was at the banks of the river Rhine. At that time the river had flood. The boy fell into the river and was immediatly drifted off by the current. The father jumped into the water to rescue him. In the end both drowned.
 
VaughanJB said:
Sadly, these things happen every year. You really have to know your rivers. For example, the Thames is tidal, and if you get caught in the water at certain times you can be (and people are) dragged along and drowned. People also drown in the likes of gravel pits for various reasons. Learning how to swim is certainly a good skill to have, but you also need common sense.
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In Holland all kids get swimming lessons. There are signs. Don't swim in this river. It's dangerous. Vortexes. People from other countries who come live here don't know. I saw that she was from Romania.
 
Germany is a strange nation. They gave birth to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis who, in turn, murdered 7 million Jews. Sometimes I wonder how and why they went down this path.
 
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