On Monday the rescue team that was searching for the captain of a barge that sunk on the River Scheldt had to stop their search after just half an hour due to the strong current in the river. The barge sank at Grembergen, just outside the East Flemish town of Dendermonde. As a result of the accident all shipping withing a 1km radius of the place where the barge sunk has been suspended until Friday afternoon.
At around 10.45am a cyclist that was riding along the River Scheldt at Grembergen spotted a barge that was sinking. He informed the emergency services, who arrived on the scene. A search was mounted for the captain of the vessel and anyone else that might have been on board.
Speaking on VRT Radio 1’s morning news and curent affairs programme ‘De ochtend’, the Mayor of Dendermonde Dirk Abbeloos (Christian democrat) said that the reason why the barge sank is still a mystery. However, "The barge was very heavily loaded with bricks”.
Strong current
The captain of the barge, who was the only person on board, is still missing. According to the Antwerp logistics company JoGo, that is responsible for opperating the barge the missing man is an experienced skipper. The barge was en route from The Netherlands to West Flanders.
Mayor Abbeloos told VRT News that the emergency services did all they could to find the sailor.
“Search coordination teams, divers, helicopters, dogs, drones and various apparatus have all been deployed. The river banks have been swept using heat sensors."
"The only place where the captain of the barge could still be is under water. However, as the current in the water was too strong, divers could not go down and look for him. The search was called off after half an hour. It does not look good. There is no use looking anymore."
Shipping at a standstill
Due to the accident, shipping will remain at a standstill until Friday afternoon. Max Verdonck of the Flemish inland waterways’ authority Vlaamse Waterweg told VRT News that "The barge is still in the water. If the salvage operation goes quicker than expected the river will reopen to shipping sooner”.
Vlaamse Waterweg says that fuel is leaking from the vessel. The relevant agencies have been notified to investigate this and remedy any environmental damage if needs be.