On the way to Juist, the island ferry “Töwi II” suffers engine damage. The heavy swell pushes the wrecked boat onto the north dike’s main dam. But sea rescuers rush to help and are able to bring the crew and passengers to safety.
On Friday evening, a sea rescue boat freed an island ferry in East Friesland, which was occupied by twelve people, from a threatening situation. The leisure ferry “Töwi II”, about eight meters long, was pushed onto the main dam off Norden-Norddeich (Aurich district) in stormy seas, as reported by the German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked People.
The small ship had suffered engine problems on the way to Juist. The wind pushed the boat onto the stones of the eastern dam of Norddeich. In addition to the two crew members, there were eight other guests on the ferry – including two small children. They were all unharmed.
The sea rescue boat “Otto Diersch” freed them from the threatening situation. A sister boat of the “Töwi II” had previously tried to tow the boat free. The two ships collided and were additionally damaged. The boat that came to the rescue was then able to reach Norddeich again under its own power. The sea rescue boat reached the scene when it got dark. “The sea constantly swept over both control dams,” as the boatman described.
“We had to approach the distressed vessel extremely carefully.” Due to the heavy seas, the crew of two was only able to establish a line connection to the ferry boat on the fourth attempt. The sea rescue boat towed the leisure ferry back to Norddeich, where an ambulance was also available for the twelve occupants. They all escaped unharmed and were otherwise unharmed.
