There’s been more drama in the mountains of Norway this week, after three hikers went missing and set off massive search and rescue efforts. A 38-year-old American journalist specializing in climate issues was found alive near Folgefonna after six days in often stormy weather, while two other men in their 60s were found dead in Jotunheimen.
The prize-winning journalist Alec Luhn, who’s worked as a foreign correspondent for The Guardian, had left Odda last Thursday for what was supposed to be a two-day trek over mountains known for their glaciers and on to Årsnes on the Kvinnherads Fjord. He failed to show up for a flight home from Norway on Saturday evening and was reported missing.
He was finally found, six days after he’d set off, with a serious leg injury but alive. Newspaper Aftenposten noted that his red jacket was spotted by a helicopter search team late Wednesday morning and he was waving. “He was able to speak and expressed extreme gratitude,” the head of the regional trauma center, Geir Arne Sunde, told state broadcaster NRK after he’d been airlifted to Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen.
Two other men, however, a Norwegian and a Dane who’d been reported missing in the mountains of Jotunheimen, were found dead late Tuesday night in the area north of Eidsbugarden. Like many others, they’d apparently been surprised by stormy weather, one of them reportedly had injured his foot and the other went looking for help, according to the local police.
Another hiker reportedly observed their distress and contacted police. Stormy weather prohibited a helicopter search but a rescue team of around 20 people and dogs from the Red Cross, Norwegian People’s Aid and Norske Redningshunder found the men’s bodies just before midnight. The cause of death remained unclear.
The accidents follow the recent rescue of a Dutch tourist and several others this summer. Search and rescue officials were urging tourists and Norwegians alike to follow weather forecasts closely, carry adequate provisions and be careful.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
