Photographer and podcast co-host Maarten Brante has died at the age of 48, six days after falling into the water at the Prins Hendrikkade in Amsterdam, where he lived on a houseboat.
On the night of August 12, Brante was on his boat and welcomed neighbours and close friends for a gathering to watch the solar eclipse. Reports say he lost his balance at around 1:50am and fell backward out of the vessel, hitting the water and losing consciousness. Friends immediately tried to find him in the dark water but were unsuccessful.
Major emergency response
The incident triggered a major emergency response involving multiple ambulances, a mobile medical trauma team, and two fire department dive teams. Rescue divers eventually found him and pulled him out, but he had been submerged underwater for roughly 25 minutes. He was admitted to hospital in critical condition and placed into a coma.
Despite the best efforts of doctors, who fought for his life for nearly a week, his body remained highly unstable due to the prolonged lack of oxygen underwater. He never regained consciousness and ultimately died in the hospital six days after the incident.
Tributes from co-host and party
The news was confirmed by his co-host Matthijs Immink on their official X account. Immink had been keeping fans abreast of the latest news about Brante and wrote: "From now on, we will speak of him in the past tense, but with very beautiful words!"
Immink also took over Brante's personal account to post a poignant final message: "Dear people, this is the last post on this account. Maarten passed away on 18 August. We already miss him enormously, and the hole he leaves behind cannot be filled. I write this message with pain in my heart. Goodbye dear friend. Matthijs."
Brante also worked for JA21's Amsterdam faction, and the party shared the news in a message on X, saying they were "devastated" by the loss. "Words cannot express what a blow this is for us. We will never again be able to enjoy his humor, his deep insight, and sharp style," they reflected.
