Australian tourist missing in the Eisbach

According to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, a twenty-seven-year-old Australian tourist has gone missing after jumping into the Eisbach yesterday. The police and fire brigade have been searching for him since yesterday evening, but have not found him yet. They believe him to have been sucked down by the rapids. Besides discovering a few bicycles once again, the young man is gone. The last anyone saw of him was his foot sticking out of the water. Rescue workers do not expect to find him alive. He is part of a group of Australians touring through Europe.

At the moment I can hear the police helicopters circling over the Isar. Could very well be that they are still looking for him. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

(note, attached image is a general photo of surfers at the Eisbach. It is not a photo of the specific incident in question)

The police believe that he got caught on one of the underwater wrecks and are not very optimistic. The water flow has been reduced to faciliate the search mission. This reminds me of Mathias who went missing earlier this year.

And after the rescue team had left people were jumping into the creek once again. Sometimes there is a good reason for a Verboten sign.

clever guy. It's sad but what was he thinking!

It is really sad that he has not yet been found, but it is a natural (well, banked off, but you know what I mean) body of water in the middle of the city and since I've been here (over 5 years) there have been 2 casualties that were reported. People die all the time from the tow and current of the ocean, even accidents happen in a still pool. Adults should be allowed to use their own better judgement if they want to risk their lives or health in certain situations and I think this is one of them. Those Verboten signs were put up only after that 3 year-old child died after getting stuck under the water near the waterfall a couple of years ago. It was terrible and tragic but that sign has not deterred anyone from jumping in on a hot day, and my thoughts are, the city of Munich put the signs up to save its own ass in those situations. I've never actually seen it enforced.

I don't think a verboten sign or a fine should be implaced because of a few accidents. "Swim at your own risk" would suffice, in my opinion.

That being said, I may stay out of the Eisbach until they find the body (god forbid, if that's the case).. where exactly did he disappear? Is it in that picture from the website, 5 von 8? Because the tow there is very dangerous.. I'm a good swimmer and panicked a little.

They could warn about the exact danger, such as being sucked under and pressed against the barriers or getting caught on ditched and stolen bicycles. But that would be an Americanism, a nanny-state-ism for Frauenversteher and Semmel-über-der-Spüle-Aufschneider. Anyone in their right mind can see the danger from the picture in the paper alone. As it is, it does say Lebensgefahr.
P.S. Not the same picture as above.

Why don't they stop the flow of the water to find the body?? EDIT : actually one of those pics from sara looks like that's what they did.

I don't think this will stop me jumping in the Eisbach on those hot days.

How about:

"Auf eigene Gefahr schwimmen - Lebensgefahr"
"swim at your own risk - life-threatening"

in both German and English. I just think "Verboten" is a bit useless. If anything it gets kids to want to jump in more. Just another German sign to me.

Is in to possible to build some kind of slope into the Eisback so that large physical objects would be pushed up out of the water?

Darwin awards

Did you mean to put that in the rifle thread?

Right, thanks. Upset about both these incidents.
Fits here as well, though.

Really? Are you that passionate about not being able to swim in the Eisbach? It's really nice, actually. It is difficult to get out, that is true, but if you keep your feet up and can swim, it's not really that bad. You should probably not go alone, though just in case. I've jumped in a million times and only really felt unsafe at exactly the place where this guy went missing. But other than that I don't think it's stupid to go in for a dip.

I associate the Darwin awards with really random acts of stupidity/chance that have led to death - like the guy who was ice fishing with his dog and threw lit dynamite to bust a hole.. needless to say the dog could fetch and upon his loyal return killed both himself and his master. Hardly the same as jumping into the Eisbach, imo.

tbh, for me jumping into eisbach at this bit near haus der kunst is scary. i wouldn't need a verboten or lebensgefahr sign to see the danger.

Does swimming in forbidden waters due to danger to life and limb constitute a random chance or stupid act? Then yes. Natives of Munich may know the danger and be able to assess it. Tourists haven't a clue regarding the debris at the bottom of the Eisbach. They see everyone else jumping in and follow, sheeplike. Okay, these are young kids, as we see in the pictures, who enjoy questioning authority. But a sign saying Lebensgefahr and masses of water creating an undertow appeal to my common sense. In a case like that I respect nature's authority, not some random decision of the City Council as in Do Not Step on the Grass.

It seems some people get a thrill out of doing risky things!

Although the Kleinhesslochsee (sp?) doesn't look as perilous as the Eisbach as it doesn't have rapids, yesterday when I was sitting there at the biergarten with a german friend there were two german women wading in the water. My german friend commented that he thought they were idiotic to even be in that water.

They recently drained the Eisbach - do they not bother to take those items out from the bottom? To be honest I never knew there were bicycles, etc. at the bottom of the Eisbach, but I keep my feet up so as not to stub my toe.

I thought they did. I have seem them dredging the silt from it before now. I assumed they would do objects too.

fwiw, I would go in, but I would choose my location wisely and carefully. I would hate to not be allowed to use my judgement. By all means, put up the warnings, deny liability, but please do not forbid this kind of thing...

"Don't climb on the rocks" - Piss off!

Is that the lake at Seehaus? She was probably referring to its swamp-likeness being a health hazard.

Water is dangerous, growing up near the Ocean where rip tides or sudden breaks in waves would kill quite a few people a year it is not a surprise that some people would drown every year in the Eisbach. But to ban swimming there is ridiculous. If you don't want to swim there than don't swim. You have no right to tell me not to swim there.

Very very sad and quite frightening.

I got into difficulty just two days ago at the exact same spot where the water drops suddenly and goes into rapids. Took in alot of water by the time I had sufaced and started to feel heavy and weak. Tried to call to friends in the water with me but they couldn't hear and I couldn't shout. Managed to get to the side but couldn't get a grip, just ripped the skin off the tops of my fingers. I finally grabbed a branch and hung on untill I could get my breath back and clawed my way onto the bank. Got out of it with some cuts and feeling shakey. Never again after reading about this poor guy.
My favourite pass-time back in Ireland during the summers was jumping off of sea-stacks and cliffs into the ocean, but that part of the Eisbach scared the shit out of me both times I've done it, it just has something about it. Never again.

Munich's Eisbach:

well, thats as long as they then don't expect rescue crews to turn up and help or expect medical care when things dont go to plan

Yep, that's what he was referring too. He said the ducks and fish shit in it and it's a closed system. I was thinking there could be broken glass on the bottom too.

Judging from the pics I've seen of the Eisbach getting into that water seems like a health hazard and very risky.

next they will ban swimming in pools because people can drown.

@Editor Bob, I don't think that the accident happened at the surfers wave.

we should set all traffic free too. Cheeky of 'them' to impose traffic rules and the like

I actually agree with that one I hate traffic rules.

Isn't it just about getting out soon enough? I mean, the upper parts of the Eisbach aren't that bad, are they? I get off before the second bridge and have never felt even remotely at danger of anything other than freezing important anatomical parts...

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&...c=addr&om=1

That's the street mentioned in the article, the dangerous bit. Not at the surfing wave.

I went down there on Sunday with my mate and his 11 year old daughter. That part of the river was definatley a bit scary. I whacked my knee on a rock and when I came up the others were under for at least 5 seconds. Needless to say the 11 year old girl was freaked and we were all happy to get out at the next oppoptunity. Up until that though it was great fun.

Just had a look along that stretch on my way home. The Eisbach is very low now, the surfing wave is but a trickle, yet you can still see the eddies from the undercurrents around that area. I for one would probably not go in along there, especially given the signs about the danger.

Lots of people out looking at the scene of the incident.

Its big shame, but it could have happened anywhere. I hope they turn the water back on soon.

Swimming in the Eisbach is great fun and a great way to escape the heat. The last few days I've been astounded by the number of people swimming there. The busiest I've ever seen it.

I think the English Garden and the Eisbach is a big part of life in Munich.

Hi with very little knowledge about Muncih, I am asking for help from anyone who could direct me to look for a dear friend of mine who has been missing since July 18 - 3pm Munich time. I am in Australia and the communication between the friends there looking for him and us is quite limited. The missing person is 28 years old, Indian descent and about 5.7''. Apparently swimming at 3pm in the afternoon in a man-made lake and no one can find him.

Any directions would be very much appreciated.

Topics merged by admin

I was up there last night taking photos of the drained Eisbach, the non-existant Surfers Wave and the Polizei divers searching for the missing person. I was going to post the photos here but I'm not sure if that's appropriate really. Anyone have any opinions on the matter?

Dunno about photo ettiquette, but yesterday I went all the way from the surfing wave trickle, past the place where I understood they say he jumped in and on to the FKK section on the other side of the Isarring. I did not see any police or divers. Where did you see them?

So have they found his body? Maybe he survived and got out somewhere and just can't find his buddies.

Why would that be inappropriate? You aren't posting body photos, just photos of the reduced water flow and search right? It is relevant news.

No body yet according to today's Süddeutsche Zeitung. But a rant by the park director about people who swim and surf right in front of the signs, the police who use tact (Fingerspitzengefühl) instead of enforcing the law and the City Council who - as Ed Bob said - use the Eisbach and the surfer's wave for publicity purposes.

jamie, you can always make a gallery and post a link. I for one would like to see the pics.

Where is that pic in post #20 ?

Pic in post 20 is here.

Thanks Tom17. I've gone over that, but only once. Normally I get out before that place. That little waterfall does have a bit of a back current.

Also, if floating down, there is a big drop off weir thing here that had a really strong looking back current even in the current trickle mode. Looks like you could get stuck under there for a long time. It looks about 2 metres high.

That's pretty far north, no?

Aye, i'm just saying if you were unconcious, floating, sumberged or whatever, it looks like a spot that could potentially hold you under for a long while.

Hmm. It's weird they wouldn't find his body though.. there's a big fence further north near Isarring before the Eisbach pours into the Isar.

Thank you all for every bit of information you have provided us. We are still hopeful, perhaps because we are so far away...until we get news they have found the body - hope is all we have. I am attaching a picture here, in hopes that perhaps...by some miracle someone may have seen him.

I'd usually disagree with a rant by some Bvaria State Beamte having a rant agaist Munich City Council but the park bloke in the article above is probably right.
Look at the figures. Fun it may be but it is also bloody dangerous. May God take care of this poor soul.

This is what the photo in post 20 looked like yesterday evening.


Here is the drained river a little further downstream.

Here is where I caught sight of the police divers.

Here are the police divers in near dark where the man is suspected of disappearing.