Sightseeing boat runs aground on sandbank near Breskens
The KNRM brought dozens of people aboard a stranded vessel to the harbour.
A sightseeing boat ran aground on a sandbank in the Western Scheldt near Breskens on Tuesday afternoon. According to regional emergency services reports, 75 people were aboard; no injuries have been reported.
The Festijn ran aground at around 1 p.m. on a sandbank between Hoofdplaat and Breskens. Because of the fog and the low water level, the vessel came to lie completely dry and could not continue under its own power.
The Coastguard Centre in Den Helder sent lifeboats from the Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution from Westkapelle, Breskens and Cadzand to the location. A coastguard helicopter was also deployed.
According to HVZeeland, the group aboard consisted of 70 passengers and five crew members. The rescuers brought 72 people to the harbour of Breskens. A second report by WNL refers to the evacuation of everyone present, but gives no further breakdown of the numbers.
According to the available reports, those involved suffered no injuries or other medical problems. No independent investigation into the cause of the grounding has yet been published. It is therefore unclear whether navigation, visibility, the tide or a combination of these factors played a role.
The rescue operation recalls an incident in May, when another seal-watching excursion boat ran aground near Neeltje Jans. According to regional reports, that earlier incident involved a much larger group of people aboard. It is not known whether maritime safety for this type of excursion is being evaluated.
The boat will remain on or near the sandbank until conditions make it possible to free the vessel safely. The exact timetable for this has not been made public.
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The core of the report is stated in two public sources. The precise breakdown of those aboard and the time by which everyone had left the vessel remain unclear.
- confirmed The sightseeing boat Festijn ran aground on a sandbank near Breskens on 6 October. — Reported by HVZeeland and WNL. source
- confirmed There were 75 people aboard. — WNL names 70 passengers and five crew members. source
- confirmed No one was injured. — HVZeeland reports no injuries or medical problems. source
1 correction(s) applied
- Was: All those aboard were taken off the vessel by the rescuers.Now: According to HVZeeland, the KNRM brought 72 of the 75 people aboard to the harbour; a second source refers to the evacuation of everyone present. (The available sources do not give exactly the same figures.)
Editor's note
The grounding and rescue operation have been confirmed by two public sources. The sources differ on whether all 75 people aboard were separately registered as having been evacuated; the article has therefore been worded cautiously.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- AD — „breskens westerschelde”
- de Volkskrant — „breskens westerschelde”
- RTL Nieuws — „breskens westerschelde”