Threatened to drown

Viennese woman (40) fell from SUP and was in danger of drowning

The water rescuers were able to pull the woman into a boat.(Bild: Wasserrettung Faaker See)

A 40-year-old woman from Vienna fell from a stand-up paddleboard into the 5-degree Lake Faak on Saturday afternoon and could only be kept afloat with great difficulty by another woman until the water rescue team arrived.

Two Viennese women and a woman from Lower Austria had taken part in a course for health and fitness trainers on Lake Faak on Saturday. At around 1 p.m., the women wanted to use the lunch break to try out stand-up paddles. They only wanted to stay close to the shore, but were carried further out by the current and the wind. Suddenly, one of the women, a 40-year-old Viennese woman, fell off the SUP board and was unable to move or climb back onto the SUP due to the cold water.

The Viennese woman was taken to Villach LKH by ambulance.(Bild: Wasserrettung Faaker See)

Woman kept her head above water
Fortunately, one of the other two women was able to keep the Viennese woman's head above water until the Faaker See water rescue team arrived. The water rescuers were finally able to pull the woman, who was already severely hypothermic, into a boat and bring her ashore. There she received emergency medical treatment and was taken to Villach Regional Hospital by the ambulance. According to the emergency doctor, she was severely hypothermic but out of danger. The water rescue service appeals to water sports enthusiasts to only take part in water sports with appropriate equipment, i.e. a wetsuit, when the water temperature is low.