According to a police spokesperson, the man probably fell from a speedboat around 9.30 pm. He would have sailed with three other people. The accident is said to have happened at the entrance of the Máxima Canal in Empel, just below the provincial border with Gelderland. The current of the Maas is strong and flows towards the A2 bridge at Oud-Empel, the police reported.
To find the man quickly, divers from the fire brigade were therefore deployed. Firefighters also sailed boats across the Maas to find the man. After an hour of searching, the emergency services from Brabant and Gelderland stopped the search around 11.15 pm. The search continues on Thursday. It is not known how the man could have fallen overboard.