Sailing Tragedy: Friends Turned Foes in Swedish Archipelago

Last summer, two old friends from Germany were on a sailing boat in the Swedish archipelago. Suddenly, a tumult erupted on board, and one of them fell into the water and died. Now, Andreas, 65, is on trial in Berlin, suspected of murdering Thomas, 71, reports Bild.

In early August 2024, the two men were on the boat "Jolly Rose" out on the open sea in the outer archipelago of Gothenburg, 25 kilometers east of Rörö.

The experienced sailor Andreas F, 65, and his good friend of several decades, Thomas B, 71, had been in Norway for a sailing competition together. The friends came last in the competition but continued their adventure together in Sweden, according to Yacht.de.

However, the adventure took a dark turn when Thomas somehow ended up in the water and died. On Wednesday, Andreas is charged with murder in a Berlin court.

Fight in the Water

According to the prosecutor, a violent fight broke out on board, and Andreas struck Thomas with a metal fitting from a lifebuoy. The blow caused Thomas to fall overboard into the water, writes Bild.

When he managed to crawl back onto the boat, the conflict reportedly flared up again. According to the indictment, Andreas took a stranglehold on Thomas and pushed him overboard once more.

A person on another nearby sailboat reportedly came to the rescue and threw a lifebuoy to Thomas. Andreas then jumped into the water and, according to the prosecutor, grabbed his friend's shoulders and pushed him underwater "with all his might, intending to kill."

According to Andreas, he was trying to save Thomas's life.

"I Just Witnessed a Murder"

At the same time, a coast guard plane happened to pass over the area. When they received an emergency alert below, they zoomed in with a camera over the boat.

• "I just witnessed a murder," said the man behind the camera about what was captured on film.

A large rescue operation was dispatched to the scene to save Thomas's life. He was flown from the scene by air ambulance but was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Andreas was arrested after the incident and detained on probable cause for the murder in Gothenburg District Court. He was later extradited to Germany.

On Wednesday, nearly a year after the archipelago murder, the trial began in Berlin.

The accused 65-year-old denies the crime, according to Bild.