In the middle of august, the Upper Austrian Water Rescue Service carried out a spectacular rescue mission in Lake Attersee. With the help of a diving robot and a team of elite divers, the “Bibelot II”, a historic sailing boat, was raised from a depth of 130 metres. The boat sank during a sailing event in early August and had been lying on the bottom of the lake ever since.
Boels Rental played a crucial role in this extraordinary operation by providing a powerful cable winch, which was sent all the way from the Boels branch in Hamburg. The winch was mounted to a pontoon in the middle of the lake and made it possible to pull the boat safely out of the deep mud.
This was no ordinary operation,” explains René Pelliscek-Wilsdorf, Branch Manager of Boels in Salzburg, who coordinated the rescue mission. “Thanks to the great cooperation of our colleagues, the special cable winch was quickly sourced from Hamburg. That made it possible to support the water rescue team in this complex task in a timely and efficient manner.
The Upper Austrian Water Rescue Service was also satisfied. “Operations at this depth are extremely challenging. The provision of the special cable winch was crucial to the success of the rescue,” says Markus Sturm, state representative for diving. “The collaboration with Boels Rental was excellent, and the rescue would certainly not have been possible without the right equipment.”
After much preparation and several salvage attempts, the boat was finally brought to the surface with the help of salvage balloons. Thanks to the smooth cooperation of everyone involved, the valuable boat was returned to its owners undamaged.
