Waterways Directorate worker found dead in Atmata River

An employee of Lithuania’s Inland Waterways Directorate was found dead in the Atmata River in Šilutė district after going missing while travelling by boat from a dredger on Friday afternoon, LRT reported Monday. The circumstances of his death are under investigation.

The Fire and Rescue Department said it received a report at 1.34pm that the worker had disappeared after setting out by boat about half an hour earlier. Firefighters searched the vessel and then the riverbank by boat. They found the man’s body at about 2.30pm and brought it aboard; medical staff pronounced him dead.

A Tauragė County police representative told BNS that the man was born in 1964 and worked for the directorate on a dredger. Police have opened a pre-trial investigation to establish the cause of death. A police spokesperson said it would most likely be reclassified under Article 176 of the Criminal Code, which covers an employer’s negligent breach of workplace safety and health requirements when it results in a serious or fatal accident or other serious consequences.

The directorate said the missing crew member had been aboard the vessel Nemunaitis, near Šyškrantė on the Atmata River, close to Rusnė and Uostadvaris. A colleague notified the worker’s manager and called the emergency number 112 after the boat was seen floating without the man.

The directorate said its staff were deeply shaken by the loss and that it was supporting the man’s relatives and colleagues while cooperating with the relevant authorities.