Drama during a pee break

Driver (49) disappeared after taking a pee break

(Bild: ÖRHB)

The circumstances surrounding the disappearance of an Upper Austrian man were puzzling: the 49-year-old is said to have stopped not far from his home in Grein an der Donau on Wednesday while driving home with his wife to take a pee break. Now the sad certainty: the man's body has been found.

The couple from St. Nikola an der Donau were driving their car on the B3 (Donau Bundesstraße) towards home in the early hours of Wednesday evening. Near Grein, the 49-year-old was apparently overcome by an urgent human need. 

At around 6 p.m., he stopped his car, although he was only around two and a half kilometers from his home, and parked next to the Danube immediately after leaving the town - at the so-called Halterkreuz.

The embankment was searched without success(Bild: ÖRHB)

The wife (48) remained in the car with the engine running. She had a headache and was therefore leaning back with her eyes closed, so she was unaware of what was happening. It was already pitch dark at the time.

The Limes police boat from the Wachau is involved in the search.(Bild: P. Huber)

Perhaps fell into the Danube
When the 49-year-old was still not back after some time, the woman began to search for him on her own, first on the banks of the Danube and then in the Grein area. As this was unfortunately unsuccessful, she raised the alarm at around 7 pm. It was suspected that the man might have fallen into the Danube. 

The Austrian rescue dog brigade was also deployed until 1 am(Bild: ÖRHB)

An official search operation was launched with task forces from the police, fire department, shipping authority, Red Cross and the Austrian Rescue Dog Brigade. Drones, boats and dogs were used for hours in an attempt to track down the missing man.

The search by the emergency services was unsuccessful on Wednesday night(Bild: ÖRHB)

A helicopter mission was not possible due to dense fog. The search was finally interrupted after midnight and resumed on Thursday. Now the sad certainty: the body of the 49-year-old has been found. Investigations are currently underway to determine how the accident happened and whether it could have been caused by someone else.