Criticism after boy is lost in German rowing-skiff accident

Leipzig, Germany - Organizers of a rowing regatta in Germany came under fire Monday after five children in a racing skiff were washed over a weir in the eastern German city of Leipzig and a 12- year-old boy was missing, feared drowned.

The club that sent the children to the sports event, from the Dessau Rowing Club in Saxony Anhalt state, said the children had not been warned about the rushing waters Sunday in an arm of the Elster River.

"We should have been told. We are not familiar with the place," said rowing club spokeswoman Yvonne Schiek.

Police divers were still looking Monday for the missing boy near the churning waters of the weir.

Witnesses said the slender boat, containing four rowers and a cox, made a wide turn Sunday and came too close to the weir and was swept over it and smashed, according to police spokesman Andreas Loepki.

The police themselves came under fire for saying late Sunday that another boy, 11, had died in hospital from the ordeal, then correcting themselves Monday morning with the news that he was in a coma but alive.

The other three children aged 10 to 12 were recovering.

Police were investigating whether there was any negligence by the regatta organizers or the municipality of Leipzig. (dpa)

Regions: