The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon, August 15, near the Wrzeszczyn dam. Emergency services received a report of the accident at 12:36 p.m.
Initially, the services were informed that several kayakers might have been involved in the incident. Ultimately, police officers determined that one man had been involved in the accident—a 43-year-old resident of Złotoryja County.
According to the police’s preliminary findings, the kayaker reached the area of the dam while paddling and ignored the warning buoys on the river. He then entered the spillway weir directly.
He fell from a height of approximately 15 meters
The man and his kayak fell from a height of approximately 15 meters into the water below the power station. He landed in an area with strong water turbulence, which further increased the danger.
Firefighters, emergency medical teams and police officers were dispatched to the scene.
Despite the very dangerous fall, the 43-year-old did not suffer serious injuries. Paramedics found that he had general bruising. However, the man refused to be taken to hospital.
A blood alcohol level of two per mille
Police officers also checked the kayaker’s sobriety. The test showed that the 43-year-old had 2 per mille of alcohol in his exhaled breath.
The accident on the Bóbr shows how dangerous areas marked as off-limits to kayakers can be. Strong currents and turbulence occur near dams and water weirs, so warnings placed on the river should not be ignored.
More about the incident at eluban.pl.
(Headline: illustrative photo).