This high-quality video footage shows the moment Austrian marine rescue divers raise a 115,000-GBP yacht from the bottom of an alpine lake.
The video was shot during the complicated rescue mission to raise the expensive L95 wooden yacht after it sank to the sea bottom some 135 metres (442 feet) below.
Video Credit: CEN/ Österreichische Wasserrettung LV OÖ
The sailing boat sank last July after an accident, and the two people on board were rescued but there was no chance to salvage the yacht from the picture postcard Austrian Attersee lake.
At its deepest point the lake is 169 metres (554 feet), with the yacht coming to rest at 135 m. To put it in context without specialist diving equipment, it is not possible to go deeper than 50 metres (164 feet).
The sunk vessel was discovered using underwater search robots but there was nowhere for them to fix a line to try and pull it to the surface, and a rope that was 135 metres long was also regarded as too heavy for the robots to lift properly.
Austrian marine rescue official Martin Eberl said that instead it was slowly lifted to the surface of the lake using buoyancy aids and then pumped clean so it can be towed to shore where it was lifted onto land by a crane.
The footage shows the divers with specialist equipment heading down to the bottom of the lake where they need torches to see because it is so dark, and preparing for the rescue.
They then fit the buoyancy aids before the vessel spectacularly bursts through the surface for the first time since it vanished.
The footage also shows the careful craftsmanship that has gone into the wooden vessel, which still appears to be in excellent condition despite its time on the watery grave. It is seen gliding smoothly over the waves as it is towed ashore.
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Story By: Michael Leidig, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
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