Overview
- An angler using an echo sounder located the submerged car and alerted emergency services, and divers from Wasserwacht and DLRG found the vehicle at about five metres depth on Saturday.
- Fire brigades, the Technical Relief Agency (THW) Neu-Ulm and volunteer rescuers used lifting airbags, winches and a crane in a multi-hour operation to bring the heavily damaged Opel Manta to shore.
- Responders reported that oil leaked from the wreck during recovery and fire services laid oil booms to contain pollution before handing the car over to police for evidence.
- Authorities say the car is likely a 1970s Opel Manta that lay on the riverbed for about 50 years; police have opened an investigation but reporting conflicts over whether a licence plate and the vehicle identification number were recovered.
- The case highlights how modern sonar and coordinated river recoveries can reopen decades-old questions about ownership and cause, and how teams balance evidence preservation with environmental protection.