Serious accident at work in Zinnowitz: man falls into a shaft!

Serious accident at work in Zinnowitz: man falls into a shaft!

In Zinnowitz, an idyllic place on the island of Usedom, an unfortunate industrial accident occurred in a sewage treatment plant on Tuesday, October 29, 2025. According to the information from news.de A 50-year-old man from Germany fell into a shaft about three meters deep while doing electrical installation work. The incident happened around 3:23 p.m. and immediately attracted the attention of the local criminal investigation service and the state office for health and social affairs.

Although the man suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries, the exact cause of the fall is still unclear. The investigation into the accident began immediately in order to shed light on the matter and prevent similar incidents in the future.

The sewage treatment plant in focus

The wastewater treatment plant in which the accident occurred is operated by the water supply and wastewater disposal association for the island of Usedom (ZVWAB). This facility currently has a population equivalent of 20,000 and is located south of the Baltic Sea resort of Zinnowitz in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district. The sewage treatment plant is repeatedly pushed to the limits of its capacity in the summer months due to the high number of visitors to the Baltic Sea beach. For this reason, expansions are planned that will enable a capacity of up to 35,000 PE uvp-verbund.de reported.

• Geplante Maßnahmen zur Erweiterung:
• Umbau der biologischen Reinigungsstufe
• Neubau eines zweiten Sandfangs
• Neubau der Vorklärung
• Neubau einer Faulanlage mit Blockheizkraftwerk (BHKW)
• Neubau der Schlammeindickung und Schlammentwässerung mit Schlammlagerhalle
• Neubau der Co-Substratannahme

An application for the determination of the EIA obligation for the expansion measures was submitted to the State Office for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Geology of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (LUNG M-V) on February 12, 2021. According to a general preliminary assessment, there are no significant adverse environmental impacts, which is why there is no EIA requirement.

The sewage treatment plant is an important part of the infrastructure in the region. Their smooth functioning is essential, not only for the residents, but also for the numerous tourists who enjoy the benefits of the island of Usedom every year.

In summary, it is hoped that the injured worker will recover quickly and that the investigation will clarify how this accident could have occurred. There is a lot of safety in companies to ensure the well-being of everyone and to prevent such accidents.