Boat drama on the Mur

Workers were not wearing life jackets

The search for the 24-year-old man went on for hours on Wednesday.(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

After a boat capsized on the River Mur in Graz on Wednesday morning and a 24-year-old worker died, it is now clear that the workers were not wearing life jackets. The witnesses have not yet been interviewed and autopsy results are still pending.

Three men, all Polish citizens, are believed to have been working from an aluminum boat in the area of the construction site of the new Mur bridge on the Südautobahn in Graz-Liebenau on Wednesday morning. Shortly before half past seven, the boat capsized - it served as a platform for the work - and the men fell into the ice-cold Mur.

Two of them were able to save themselves on the bank, their 24-year-old colleague was finally rescued dead in the early afternoon after hours of searching. The police and public prosecutor's office immediately began an investigation and an autopsy of the body was ordered.

Cause of accident still unclear
On Thursday, the police confirmed to "Krone" that the boat had been pulled out of the Mur and recovered. The investigation is still ongoing, which is why no cause for the capsizing of the boat has yet been determined. The witnesses have also not yet been interviewed. "The two other victims were taken to hospital yesterday, so we have not yet been able to question them," says police spokesman Sabri Yorgun. 

The public prosecutor's office in Graz also confirms the suspicion that the men were not wearing life jackets at the time of the accident. The ordered autopsy of the deceased has not yet been completed. The results could be available on Thursday or Friday.