A tragic incident has claimed the lives of a seven-year-old boy and his mother, who both perished after the boy fell overboard from a passenger ferry in the Baltic Sea. According to a spokesperson from the Swedish Maritime Administration, the child fell into the water on Thursday, prompting his mother to bravely leap after him in a desperate attempt to save him.
The unfortunate incident occurred aboard the Stena Spirit ferry, which was en route from the Polish port of Gdynia to the Swedish port of Karlskrona. Upon learning of the distressing situation, the crew immediately issued a distress signal and swiftly altered their course to return to the location where the mother and child had fallen.
Rescue efforts were bolstered by ships and helicopters from Sweden, as well as NATO units that were present in the vicinity. Their combined efforts aimed to rescue the pair from the perilous situation.
Once located, the 36-year-old mother and her son were airlifted separately to a hospital in Karlskrona. Anders Olsson, a member of the rescue helicopter crew involved in saving the mother, revealed in an interview with Swedish radio that she was unresponsive at the time and received immediate medical attention.
Unfortunately, despite the valiant efforts made, the lives of both individuals, who were Polish citizens, could not be saved. Mariusz Ciarka, a spokesperson for the police, confirmed to local media that the tragic outcome was inevitable.