Divers to search for missing Hamburg official

Berlin (AFP) – Divers are planning an underwater search of Hamburg’s port for missing merchandise manager Timo Kraus, who works for the city’s Bundesliga club, local police confirmed on Wednesday.

The 44-year-old father of two has not been seen since leaving a riverside bar in the city’s port on Saturday night after meeting colleagues.

The club has used their official Twitter and Facebook accounts to appeal for any information about Kraus’ whereabouts.

A signal from his mobile phone was last detected on the banks of the Elbe and police are now assuming he could have fallen into the river.

On Tuesday, a police sniffer dog picked up his scent near the water and 100 metres away from the bar where Kraus was last seen.

Hamburg police say a dive team will search the port “as soon as the current and weather conditions allow”.

Police are also eager to speak to the driver of a taxi Kraus got into which took him from the bar to the city centre, before he mysteriously returned to the port around midnight.

“In Hamburg there are around 6,000 taxi drivers who do a good job, so it simply can’t be that a driver, who is urgently sought as a witness, hasn’t yet got in touch,” said Hamburg police chief Juergen Schubbert.

“A family is missing a husband and a father, a lot of people a friend and work colleague.”