Together with Retter

Boy Celebrates His “Birthday” for the Second Time After Drowning Incident

On the anniversary, Greg’s family and that of lifesaver Thomas Hinterkörner got together for a meal.(Bild: zVg)

Last summer, Greg—who was ten at the time—was rescued from a depth of about five meters in Lake Wolfgang by Thomas Hinterkörner. On the anniversary, the two families got together for a meal and celebrated the second birthday of the boy from Linz, who has made a full recovery.

It was June 29, 2025, that turned Greg’s family’s life upside down. The then-10-year-old from Linz was on a swimming trip to St. Gilgen on Lake Wolfgang with his soccer team. After the boy jumped into the water from the dock, he didn’t resurface. Thomas Hinterkörner from Neukirchen near Lambach noticed what had happened and jumped into the water as well.

Thomas Hinterkörner and Greg(Bild: zVg)

Three Days in a Coma
At a depth of about five meters, he found the unconscious boy and brought him to the surface. Greg is said to have been underwater for a total of 15 to 20 minutes. He was then resuscitated on site for another 30 minutes before being flown to the University Hospital of Salzburg. There, he remained in a coma for three days before being allowed to leave the hospital—ironically, on his eleventh birthday—after a weeks-long stay. Incidentally, the boy has absolutely no memory of the incident itself.

On the anniversary, Greg’s family and that of his lifesaver, Thomas Hinterkörner, met for a meal together.(Bild: zVg)

“We write to each other almost every week”
Now, exactly one year after the “Miracle of Lake Wolfgang,” Greg and his lifesaver met again and toasted the boy’s second birthday. “At the invitation of Greg and his parents, we celebrated life exactly one year later. The family is very religious and extremely grateful. We’re still in touch, meet once a quarter, and write to each other almost every week,” says Thomas Hinterkörner. Greg has since made a full recovery from the swimming accident.

Hanging in there despite a tough time at school
“He’s just spent the last four weeks in Rohrbach for rehab and is almost back to his old self. His mom also sent me videos of him swimming and diving in the water again with his two brothers—that was a huge step for her,” says Hinterkörner. The lifesaver is particularly pleased that Greg is keeping up well in school and has no trouble with his studies: “He’ll be able to move up to the second grade at the secondary school this fall and won’t have to repeat the school year despite this challenging time.”