Munich. In an attempt to save his two and a half year old son from drowing in the Isar, a man died in the river on sunday.

The 40 year old father died on sunday, as his child was being rescued by a 44 year old company director from Gröbenzell and a life guard from the water rescue. The boy was unconscious and had to be resuscitated, he was severly cold and was brought to intensive care. The 34 year old heavily pregnant mother was suffering from shock. The 5 year old daughter of the couple was present as the tragedy unfolded.

According to the fire crew, the boy was playing in shallow water in the Isar. When his toy car fell into the water, he apparently tried to fish it out, and fell into the river. The father jumped in after him. Both were swept along by the strong current. The boy was easily dragged out of the floods, but the father sank under the heavy current and drifted away.

Several witnesses alerted the fire brigade when they saw the man drifting in the water. The crew positioned themselves on five different downstream bridges. The man washed past Reichbachbrücke and was brought ashore. A fireman used a ladder to get down to the severely injured man and started resuscitation. Due to his severe head injuries resuscitation attempts were in vain.