Aug. 14 (UPI) — A Swedish reporter is feared dead after what authorities say was the “deliberate” sinking of a homemade submarine off the coast of Denmark.
Freelance journalist Kim Wall, 30, disappeared Thursday night after the 56-foot sub constructed by Peter Madsen sank near Copenhagen.
Wall, a New York-based journalist, had boarded the sub to interview Madsen for a story, officials said.
The vessel that sank, the UC3 Nautilus, is one of three Madsen constructed and can carry eight people.
Madsen was rescued by the navy and had been ordered into custody for 24 days on a manslaughter charge.
“It appears to be a deliberate act to sink the submarine,” Jens Moller, the chief homicide investigator of the Copenhagen police, said at a Sunday news conference.
The vessel was recovered Saturday in 23 feet of water at Koge Bay — but Wall was not aboard.
“There are no persons in the submarine, dead or alive,” Moller said.
Officials continued searching for her Monday.
Police said Madsen initially told them he dropped Wall off from his submarine in Copenhagen on Thursday night. Sunday, police said he gave another explanation.
Madsen, 46, who has denied wrongdoing, told local television station TV2 that the submarine sank due to technical issues.
“I was toying with various things on the submarine and then an error occurred,” he said.
Madsen, who is an entrepreneur, artist, submarine builder and aerospace engineer, said he didn’t contest his detention — but denied any involvement in Wall’s disappearance.
Wall’s boyfriend first reported her missing after she failed to return from the trip.
