Woman, 42, drowns in Waal after rescuing children from water
A 42-year-old woman from Lunteren drowned in the Waal near Ochten on Sunday afternoon. She disappeared underwater after rescuing several children, who were swimming near a groyne. Emergency services found her body about an hour later.
The emergency services were called in at around 1:50 p.m. when the woman’s loved ones couldn’t find her in the water, Omroep Gelderland reported. The emergency services searched the river and found the woman after about an hour. They tried to resuscitate her, but it was to no avail, the local security office reported.
It is unclear what the relationship between the woman and the children is. NOS reported that they were family, but had no further details.
The security office has long warned that swimming in the Waal is not safe due to the strong current and the many large ships that pass by. The ships have a suction effect, and the water level can change rapidly.
A groyne, like the one where the children the woman rescued were playing, is a stone breakwater in a river that ensures the water flows freely. There is often a strong current around a groyne. The woman may have been swept along by a current.
