Düsseldorf has banned swimming in the Rhine. The ban takes effect Thursday, and violations will be subject to fines of up to €1,000, as the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia announced on Wednesday. Swimming accidents have occurred repeatedly in the past. For example, at the beginning of July, a six-year-old boy died in the river after being swept away by the current. In June, five men drowned within twelve days.
"It is our express goal to prevent further swimming accidents in the Rhine in Düsseldorf," explained Mayor Stephan Keller (CDU). Düsseldorf has issued a regulatory ordinance to this effect, which applies to the entire city area along the Rhine's banks.
Exempt from the ban are work and exercises by authorities, rescue services, or the fire department, as well as approved events. Watercraft may be launched or pulled out of the water at designated locations. Boats may also be briefly embarked or disembarked when docking or unmooring. Fishing and wading are also still permitted.
The city pointed out that the Rhine is a busy river "with treacherous currents, waves from passing ships, and rapidly fluctuating water levels." Swimming in the Rhine poses "a significant risk to life and limb," even for experienced swimmers. Even in the immediate vicinity of the shore, unforeseeable dangers threaten, for example, people could be caught and swept away by waves or currents.
Keller therefore again appealed "to all citizens not to swim in the Rhine, because this is not only forbidden, but above all life-threatening." According to a count published last week by the German Lifesaving Association (DLRG), at least 236 people drowned in Germany in the first seven months of the current year.
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