According to Klaipeda police, the two men, born in 1971 and 1988, were on their way to Klaipeda from Sweden. Witnesses say the younger one fell overboard and the elder one was trying to save him and also leaned overboard.
DFDS Seaways's ferry Optima Seaways left the port of Karlshamn at 8 p.m. Lithuanian time. Information about two people falling overboard was received at around 10.50 p.m. and a rescue operation followed. The ship turned around and return to the place the two people fell.
The Swedish maritime rescue coordination center was the key service in charge of the rescue operation. The accident took place near Swedish shores, and the rescue operation took about 5 hours.
The company representative said earlier the two Lithuanian men were travelling together.
Lithuanian police are looking into the circumstances of this incident.