Why swimming in the Rhine is so dangerous
By Sabine Schmitt (text), Marco Hörnchen and Hanna Manger (graphics), Georgina Siriwardena (translation)
🌍 Read in German / Auf Deutsch lesen
It is a natural reaction. If a loved one is in danger of drowning in a river, you want to jump in immediately to save them. However, if you try to do that in the Rhine, you put yourself in danger too. Not infrequently, this ends in death - for the person in distress as well as for the person who has tried to pull them out.
"It is quite rare for someone to be rescued alive," says Oliver Ostendarp from the German Lifesaving Society (Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft or DLRG) Düsseldorf. The DLRG has a specially trained white water rescue team. Its members never go into the river unsecured. However, their rescue missions almost always involve fatalities.
Three things make the Rhine so dangerous: ships, vortices and whirlpools, and the high speed at which the water flows downstream. In addition, many people overestimate their own strength and how well they can swim.
Danger #1: Ships
The Rhine is a busy shipping waterway. Swimming in it is a bit like trying to jog on a motorway, only the type of danger is different.
Large cargo ships ensure that the tides alternate at very short intervals along the shores of the Rhine. Large cargo ships and the water they displace cause the water level on the banks of the Rhine to change at very short intervals. The moving ships suck in the water in front of them, causing the water level near the shore to fall. People in the water are drawn further into the riverbed. But once the ship has passed, the water comes back with full force.
The water is extremely powerful. Children are particularly at risk if they follow the receding water. But adults can also lose their balance and footing in knee-deep water. The current could pull them into the middle of the river and, in the worst case scenario, under a ship or into a propeller.
- This video by the DLRG Dinslaken shows how dangerous the rapidly changing water levels on the banks of the river can be, especially for small children.
It is also of significance that captains of large cargo ships hardly ever see people swimming. The blind spot in front of a ship, the so-called dead visual range, can be up to 250 metres.
Danger #2: Vortices and Whirlpools
There are countless vortices and whirlpools in the Rhine that can sweep people away. Whirlpools occur between groynes and are particularly dangerous. Groynes or river dams are small peninsulas of land that protrude from the riverbanks into the Rhine.
Between these groynes, the water begins to move in an orbital motion, especially on the sandy side. It forms a whirlpool, the centre of which has a strong downward pull. This can drag even experienced swimmers into the depths of the Rhine.
Many people underestimate this danger because the water looks completely calm on its surface. Most whirlpools are not visible from the shore or from the water; they form beneath the surface of the river.
Danger #3: The Current
The Rhine flows very fast. In the area around Cologne and Düsseldorf, it flows at about 6 to 8 kilometres per hour (roughly 4 to 5 miles per hour) when it has a normal water level. Even an Olympic swimmer cannot fight against the Rhine’s current.
Mark Warnecke, for example, a former German professional swimmer and highly trained athlete, tried to swim against the current at full speed in 2014 in an experiment for Stern-TV. He was swept away for 1000 metres. He later reported that his body was completely shaken by vortices and whirlpools in the ship waterway in the middle of the river. The consequence: panic.
In the middle of the river, the water flows even faster than at the edge. This is because there are no obstacles. High water also means the Rhine flows faster - at about 12 kilometres per hour or 7.5 miles per hour.
How can I help if someone is in danger?
The most important thing is not to jump in after them! "No sane person should go into the Rhine to save someone," says Oliver Ostendarp from the DLRG Düsseldorf. The risk of endangering yourself is simply too great.
Emergency call. Instead of jumping into the water, one should call 112 immediately. The following information is important:
- Where did it happen? Describe where the accident happened as precisely as possible. Check your orientation by paying attention to kilometre signs along the Rhine, but also by looking at house numbers in the vicinity, bridges, harbours, specific buildings.
- What happened? Describe what you observed.
- Are there any questions? Wait for the emergency control centre to ask you.
Throw floating objects to help them stay above water. Things like a life ring, a piece of wood or a ball can help people in distress stay afloat. Throwing a rope can also save lives. Important: Do not put yourself in danger. People usually drift away very quickly.
Keep the person in view. People in distress can potentially hold on to something or get themselves out of the water. If in doubt, call 112 again and inform the fire brigade of your observations. If it is not possible to follow the person along the shore, wait for the emergency services where you first dialled 112.
What should I do if I get into danger myself?
It sounds like a bad idea at first, and it's also hard to think about when you’re in an emergency, but if you are pulled underwater by a vortex, you should let yourself be pulled downwards – once you reach the bottom of the vortex you should dive away sideways. That's the theory - in practice it rarely works.
Most importantly, if you are caught in the Rhine’s current, you should never fight against it. It is too exhausting, so it is better to swim with the current to the shore.
However, the very best thing is to not enter the Rhine at all.