Two women in a canoe capsized on the Sarine on Wednesday and made their way to shore, leaving their empty boat behind. Alerted, the cantonal police launched a vast rescue operation to find people presumed missing.
A major search mechanism has been deployed to find any missing persons in the Sarine. (Illustrative photo)
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Rega, a rescue column and the divers from the Friborg cantonal police intervened for nothing during the night from Wednesday to Thursday. The discovery of a canoe on the banks of the Sarine suggested that their two occupants could have been carried away.
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The facts took place early Wednesday evening, near the Enney campsite (FR), in Gruyère. After their capsize, the two women in question, 52 and 40, were able to return to shore. They then returned home without worrying about their equipment that they had left in the water, the cantonal police said Thursday.
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The alert was given by a third party intrigued to see abandoned equipment and an unoccupied canoe. Officers also found several clues in the water (life jackets and a picnic bag with medication). These could indicate that someone could have been involved in a boating accident.
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Important intervention
The intervention mobilized divers from the cantonal police, Rega and the Bulle rescue column with its canyoning specialists. For safety reasons, the gates of the Lessoc dam were closed in order to reduce the flow of the river. The search was halted shortly before midnight.
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A Vaud patrol then found the 52-year-old woman at her home, which could be located using information on a medicine box. The latter said she was accompanied by a 40-year-old woman when the boat capsized in the Sarine in the afternoon.
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Police recommendations
In its press release, the Friborg cantonal police recalls a few recommendations:
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– Never underestimate the power of running water, even if it seems weak;
– Water sports equipment (canoe, paddle, etc.) must bear the name, address and telephone number of the owner;
– After any incident in the water, inform the police on n ° 117, for example if you had to leave your machine or your belongings on the scene.
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(ATS / NXP)
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