AMSTERDAM — Emergency services found a sunken yacht from the Maas River on Tuesday, but neither of the bodies of the two missing men were found in the submerged wreck and the search will be continued further downstream.

The men have been missing since Sunday afternoon when their motor yacht lost its steering and fell 7m down a dam in the fast-flowing river. Two women and four children were rescued and treated in hospital for hypothermia. They have since been released.

The boat was found about 30m from the dam wall in a deeper part of the river after the dam was closed on Tuesday to allow the water level to be reduced. Closing the dam also reduced the flow of the river, allowing police to continue the search with both a boat and helicopter.

Some 50 police, fire brigade officers, staff of the Department of Waterways and Public Works, military engineers and four divers were involved in the search on Tuesday for the four men, both of them of the southern Dutch town of Bunde.

The boat had not been found by 11.30am and the dam was completely closed to reduce the water level further. But time was short because the water needed to be returned to its original level within 90 minutes to prevent flooding upstream and problems for inland shipping.

Once the boat was found, the dam was reopened at about 1.30pm and efforts are now being focused at finding the men along the banks of the river. The boat will be recovered when the Maastricht public prosecutor gives assent.

[Copyright Expatica News 2005]

Subject: Dutch news