The fifth person had still not been found by 8am but rescuers reported finding an empty life jacket.
The four people who were saved from the water were said to have been cold but in relatively good condition.
The first two, who were not wearing life jackets, were found at 6.35am and the second pair were picked up 20 minutes later. The missing person was apparently wearing a life jacket.
At 8am Mats Friman, head of the rescue services in Värends, announced that a life jacket had been found.
“That’s all. But we don’t know where it came from.”
The five people found themselves in the water of Helgasjön at around 3am on Sunday. They were in their way back from a party in a motorboat which was grounded in the dark. The boat began taking in water and someone on board called SOS Alarm.
“They called and said that the boat had been grounded. Then they called to say that the boat had begun to sink. The police recorded the calls and it all seems credible,” said Friman.
But the location given was wrong. The rescue effort was targeted on an area 5km from the actual scene of the accident. Strong winds prevented a helicopter air search.
“When we didn’t find anything we widened the search,” said Friman.
According to Mats Friman, there were men and women on the 6.5 metre boat but no children.
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