Two boats collided with each other on the river Lek near Lopik and Ameide on Friday evening. A 35-year-old woman from Veenendaal, who was sought after en masse after the collision on the water, is still missing. The search was called off just after 10:30 p.m. Friday.
A pleasure boat collided with a tanker on Friday evening and subsequently sank, a spokesperson for the Utrecht Security Region (VRU) reported. There were five people on the pleasure boat. Four of them were brought to safety by a person with a fishing boat. The missing woman’s husband was taken to hospital with cuts. No further information has been released about the other three people on board.
The sunken ship was brought ashore. The search for the missing 35-year-old woman from Veenendaal continued there. The search was called off around 10:30 p.m. because it was getting too dark. The woman had not yet been found at the time. The police will resume their investigation in daylight on Saturday morning.
Mayor Sjors Fröhlich of Vijfheerenlanden, to which the Ameide belongs, speaks on Twitter of a ‘horrible accident’. “Fortunately, several people were rescued. But I sympathize with family and friends who are still in great uncertainty.” Fröhlich has since spoken to relatives of the missing woman.
They are desperate, the mayor describes. “What a sadness. Hopefully tomorrow at least an end to the uncertainty.”
After the collision on the Lek, the VRU deployed several diving teams to search for the missing woman in the water. That happened at the spot where the boat sank. The divers took turns searching the boat. The spokesman spoke of a difficult search in the river. This was partly due to the fact that a lot of stuff in the boat had shifted during the collision.
The search took place near the Salmsteke recreation area and the town of Ameide. The police have evacuated and closed the recreation area. Curious onlookers were kept at a distance. The police called for people to stay away from the dikes to allow the emergency workers free passage.
Shipping in the Lek was stopped. Several freighters had to wait on both sides before being allowed to continue.