Danish DIY submarines sinks, inventor Peter Madsen arrested on suspicion of manslaughter
Danish inventor Peter Madsen has been arrested after his giant homemade submarine sunk with a passenger inexplicably missing. The submarine ignored radio contact and only sunk after it was found by searching authorities.
The Danish owner of a huge DIY submarine was arrested on manslaughter charges after his craft sunk, and a journalist who was possibly on board disappeared, Copenhagen police announced on Friday.
Peter Madsen built the world's largest homemade submarine in 2008 after crowdfunding the cost. The 40-ton, 18-meter-long (60 feet) craft named UC3 Nautilus was his third submarine project.
The 46-year-old was voyaging off the coast of Denmark with a Swedish journalist who local media said was doing a story on the sub, when they went missing.
According to the police timeline, on Thursday at about 7 p.m. local time, the sub departed Refshale Island, a former industrial shipyard transformed into a creative hub, for what was supposed to be a short trip.
But when they did not return, the journalist's boyfriend alerted authorities at about 2.30 a.m., prompting a wide search.
The sunken craft was Madsen's third and largest submarine project in 2008
Craft sinks after being spotted
Two helicopters and three ships scoured the Baltic Sea waters between Copenhagen and the island of Bornholm. Eventually a lighthouse in Koge Bay, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Copenhagen, spotted the craft at 10.30 a.m. on Friday.
"A radio contact was established for the boat, which, according to the owner, was heading towards the harbor," the police statement said. But 30 minutes later "the submarine suddenly sank and the owner was subsequently rescued on a private motorboat sailing him in port."
Local broadcaster TV2 aired footage of Madsen getting off the private boat and giving a thumbs-up sign, but the journalist was nowhere to be seen.
Madsen told authorities he had dropped her off back at their departure point at about 10.30 p.m.
"Whether the woman was on board the submarine at the time of her disappearance is unclear," Danish police said without naming her.
Ignored radio contact
When asked why he did not respond to radio contact earlier in the day, Madsen told them he had had technical problems, Danish navy spokesman Anders Damgaard told The Associated Press.
Before his arrest Madsen told TV2 that the submarine sank when a minor ballast problem rapidly escalated and sunk the boat.
"It took about 30 seconds for Nautilus to sink, and I couldn't close any hatches or anything," he said. "But I guess that was pretty good, because I otherwise still would have been down there."
"I am fine, but sad because Nautilus went down."
Police located the wreck several meters below the surface but divers were unable to safely enter it. They were hoping to tow it to port on Saturday and then search inside.
Copenhagen Deputy Police Inspector Jens Moller Jensen said investigators were looking for witnesses who may have seen the woman after the time Madsen reported she disembarked.
Madsen was due to appear in court on Saturday.
aw/ng (AP, AFP)