UPDATED: Three passengers on board a bus bound for Lofoten in Northern Norway were killed and 11 sent to hospital after the bus ran off the E10 highway in stormy weather on Thursday. Several of the nearly 60 passengers on the bus were visitors from China, Singapore, India, Malysia, the Netherlands and France.
That made it difficult for officials to immediately identify all those involved and contact their next of kin. The bus that had departed from the airport at Narvik had no list of passengers, and police were urging all survivors of the crash to contact them.
Strong winds and slippery roads are believed to have played a role in the crash near Raftsundet, west of Narvik. The bus slid off the highway and part of it landed in a lake known as Åsvatnet. The three killed were found underwater and later said to be two women in their 20s and 40s, and a child believed to be age 10-12, with nationalities unknown. Police said they would be formally identified after an autopsy report was available next week.
Two passengers were flown to a hospital in Stokmarkenes, while nine others were taken in ambulance. The bus was bound for Svolvær on the Lofoten peninsula that’s popular with visitors to Norway, also in the dark and often stormy winter months.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre interrupted his Christmas holiday to go live on national TV Thursday night and express his condolences and sympathy. “I think everyone in Norway is touched by what we’re hearing about this accident,” Støre told state broadcaster NRK. “It’s a very serious accident with many involved, some killed or seriously injured.” An investigation into the cause of accident was underway, with one investigator telling NRK that several of the passengers “had unfortunately not been using their seatbelts.”
NewsinEnglish.no staff
