Polzist lifesaver

“We somehow made it to the shore”

This is where he jumped in: Stefan Hörandtner (44) heads the police station at Urfahrmarkt.(Bild: Polizei Oö)

A courageous police officer jumped into the Danube in Linz and rescued a drowning man from Lower Austria who had fallen into the river for inexplicable reasons. In an interview with the "Krone" newspaper, Inspector Stefan Hörandtner explains how the dramatic rescue operation unfolded.

At around 11.30 pm, a passer-by came to our office at the Infopoint at Urfahrmarkt and said that a person was floating in the water and was holding on to the mooring line of a landing stage," says Inspector Stefan Hörandtner (44), explaining how he became a lifesaver in Linz-Urfahr on Sunday night: "We immediately ran there with the professional fire department. On site, we searched the surface of the water with flashlights. But the person had already drifted off."

Ten meters from the shore
Hörandtner ran downstream with his colleagues. The officers spotted the casualty at the SV Urfahr sports ground. The man was floating in the Danube about ten meters from the bank. "He already looked quite weak and disoriented and was desperately trying to stay afloat. We kept shouting to him 'Swim towa', but he was no longer able to do so."

Policeman jumped into the water
When the victim went under, Hörandtner took off his stabbing gilet and his weapon belt and jumped into the cold, dark Danube. "He held out his hand to me, I held out mine to him. When we touched, he lost all his strength. I then tried to pull him out with the lifeguard grip, as I learned 20 years ago during my training. Somehow we both made it the few meters to the shore."

A doctor was also there
Colleagues and passers-by helped Hörandtner to pull the drowning man to the shore. The passer-by who first raised the alarm turned out to be a doctor and provided expert assistance to the dripping wet victim.

The rescued man, a 43-year-old from Seitenstetten (Lower Austria), was barely responsive, hypothermic and had a head injury. According to witnesses, he had probably sustained the injury when he slipped on the bank and fell into the Danube.

Lifesaver Hörandtner remains modest: "In this situation, most people would probably have acted like me. You don't think about it for long, you do your best." Nevertheless, such actions are commendable.