At least 13 die in swimming accidents in Germany amid sweltering heat wave

At least 13 people died in swimming accidents across Germany over the weekend as a heat wave sent large numbers of people to lakes and rivers to cool off, local media reported on Sunday.

According to police, a 27-year-old man drowned in the Neckar River near Heidelberg on Saturday. A 30-year-old man died in a swimming lake near Neuhofen, south of Mannheim, while two men died in separate bodies of water in Berlin, the German Press Agency (dpa) reported.

A 6-year-old child died in the Herner Meer area of the Rhine-Herne Canal in North Rhine-Westphalia. In Hesse, police recovered the body of a 40-year-old man from Waldsee Raunheim lake, southwest of Frankfurt.

On Friday, a 45-year-old man was pulled from the water by visitors at Seepark Lünen near Dortmund and later died in hospital, according to police.

Police also said an 8-year-old boy was found dead after a two-hour search at a swimming lake in Isernhagen near Hanover. The child had been swimming before disappearing beneath the water, according to initial reports.

The bodies of two elderly men were also recovered from Lake Constance on Friday after they disappeared a day earlier when they jumped into the lake in front of their wives.

Germany has experienced several days of temperatures reaching or exceeding 40C (104F), with little overnight relief in many areas. The prolonged heat has increased pressure on vulnerable people, while entering cold water in extreme temperatures can place heavy strain on the circulatory system.