The 56-year-old heard cries for help at around 8:50 p.m. at Lake Traunsee. Shortly thereafter he discovered two swimmers at the lake. One was about 100 m, the other about 300 m from the shore. The 56-year-old, himself a firefighter, immediately made an emergency call and informed a 35-year-old acquaintance. The two then went out on the lake together in the 35-year-old’s boat to save the two swimmers.
The two victims, a 27-year-old from Pinsdorf and a 41-year-old from Tyrol, capsized their canoe. After the first aid, both were brought to the Salzkammergut Klinikum Gmunden with the rescue. The fire brigade and the Traunkirchen water rescue service were deployed with a total of around 20 men and a boat.