Person Reported: Swimmer Missing Near Underwater Stadtbredimus-Palzem Lock

In the picturesque town of Stadtbredimus-Palzem, along the banks of the Moselle River, a search operation for a missing man entered its second day. The individual, approximately 60 years old, was reported missing after going swimming in the river and failing to return at 8:00 PM on July 25, 2025.

The initial search was conducted by PI Saarburg and WSP Trier, but the efforts proved unsuccessful. In a bid to expand the search area, significant support was received from Luxembourg, including two multi-purpose boats, sonar, divers, and a helicopter.

The search operation was led jointly by all section leaders on the German side, with Luxembourgish forces conducting simultaneous searches on the opposite shoreline. As the night fell, at around 3:10 AM, the divers from Luxembourg suspended their search, followed by the remaining forces. Despite the setback, the search resumed the next day.

On July 26, the search area was expanded due to the support received. A helicopter was also used in the expanded search, along with sonar and divers. The additional authorities that registered for the search included numerous fire departments, the police with a helicopter from the Ministry of the Interior, the Red Cross, the ARA air rescue with the rescue helicopter RK1, the district administration Klagenfurt-Land, and rescue divers from various Austrian Water Rescue (ÖWR) stations.

The Corps Grand-Ducal and the Police of Rhineland-Palatinate offered further support for the search efforts on July 26. A thermal imaging drone was used in the search by the volunteer fire department of the VG Saarburg-Kell, but the search remained unsuccessful.

Press releases from the Police of Rhineland-Palatinate are free for publication with proper attribution. For any queries or information, the Police Presidency Operations, Logistics, and Technology Department of Water Police can be contacted at 06131-65 83023 or via email at [email protected]. The Police Presidency Operations, Logistics, and Technology WSP-Station Trier can be contacted at 06519-38190. The website for the Police of Rhineland-Palatinate is www.polizei.rlp.de.

A renewed search on July 26 in the shoreline area and with a helicopter from Luxembourg did not yield any new findings. The search continues, with the hope that the missing individual will be found soon.