By Dirk Böttger and Jörg Bergmann
Pensioner Burghard M. (80) was only inattentive for a moment. But the short mishap could have ended fatally for him and his partner Margot W. (82)!
What happened? Burghard M. had not taken out the aisle when parking on his garden property near Oranienburg (Oberhavel) on Monday evening. Maybe he was stuck too. “I don’t remember exactly,” he said the day after.
The Opel Zafira was parked on an incline, just a few meters from the banks of the Havel Canal.
Burghard M. hugs his girlfriend Margot W. (82) – she was able to save herself at the last second Photo: Joerg Bergmann
The result: When the pensioner got out, the car suddenly rolled further down the embankment. “But my Margot was still in there,” says the 80-year-old.
Luckily, the woman was able to jump out of the car. Burghard M. grabbed the rolling car and wanted to stop it. But then he let go. “He would have pulled me into the water with him.”
The fire brigade pulls the Opel out of the canal Photo: Spreepicture
And so he let the vehicle roll. Saw the Opel fill up with water and slowly – as if in slow motion – disappear under the surface of the water. He stood helpless on the shore. “It was so terrifying to watch him walk away.”
He hugs his Margot tightly as he tells the story, then says: “The most important thing is that we both survived. Not sitting in the car.”
The Opel is pulled ashore again Photo: Spreepicture
The alarmed fire brigade came with four divers and pulled the car out of the water with a crane.
On Tuesday the Opel was back in the garden. But, according to the pensioner: “It’s no longer usable, the electrical system is completely broken. It’s probably a total loss.”
The water from the canal is still in the glove compartment – the car had completely submerged Photo: Joerg Bergmann
His daughter wants to give him a new car. He can then go back to his beloved Schmachtenhagen male choir.
Then Burghard M. blinks in the sun and says goodbye: “All wishes are small compared to being healthy…”