Norway’s defense department has been having a miserable time of late. Now it also faces the biggest punitive fine ever issued against it, following a mine-clearing accident in 2017 that killed a 21-year-old soldier. Hågen Skattum, a young sergeant from Voss, died instantly when 11 kilos of explosives blew up in his hands during a […]
Sunken frigate finally being raised
February 26, 2019
After months of delays, efforts finally got underway during the night to raise the wreckage of the sunken Norwegian frigate KNM Helge Ingstad just off Norway’s West Coast. The complex and expensive operation remains threatened by heavy seas, wind gusts and a critical point when massive cranes lift the once-proud vessel from its current forlorn position. […]
Teenagers electrocuted in train tunnel
February 25, 2019
Three teenagers in Oslo trespassed into a train tunnel in the Filipstad area Sunday afternoon, and came into physical contact with 15,000-volt electricity sources. One of the youngsters was killed at the scene, the others critically injured. Emergency crews were summoned to the scene at around 4:30pm, and faced major challenges reaching the teens and […]
Helicopter crash kills both on board
February 18, 2019
UPDATED: A man and woman in their 40s from Rogaland were killed when the helicopter they were flying crashed Sunday in steep mountain terrain near Røldal. An investigation into the cause of the private helicopter crash was already underway on Monday. The helicopter is believed to have taken off around 3pm Sunday afternoon, bound for […]
Yacht owner flew doomed helicopter
February 15, 2019
Norway’s accident investigations board has delivered its final report on a near-fatal helicopter crash that occurred in Bergen in May 2017. It has concluded that wealthy Hong Kong businessman Charles Chan was flying the helicopter himself, and had little experience when he attempted to land it on his luxury yacht anchored offshore. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) […]
Navy accused of another near-crash
February 12, 2019
One of Norway’s major ferry firms, Fjord1, claims that one of its vessels was nearly rammed by one of the Norwegian Navy’s corvettes at high speed last November. Fjord1 has objected to how Navy officials allegedly downplayed the incident afterwards. Fjord1 has sent a report to the Norwegian Maritime Authority (Sjøfartsdirektoratet), claiming that the “near-miss” […]
Another deadly avalanche in Norway
February 4, 2019
A 16-year-old boy out snow-mobiling in a valley in southwestern Norway on Sunday afternoon got caught in an avalanche at Åseral in Vest-Agder. He died after being buried under the mounds of snow and ice for three hours. Emergency search and rescue crews numbering around 35 people and including two specially trained dogs struggled to […]
Two more avalanche victims found
January 18, 2019
Police in Northern Norway confirmed they had found the bodies of two more of the four skiers who were killed by an avalanche in Tamokdalen in Troms on January 2. They were struggling, however, to locate the last victim and were trying again on Friday. Search crews were using specially trained dogs to help find […]
Defense minister blasts sexual harassment
January 9, 2019
Norwegian Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen lashed out at sexual harassment in the armed forces, during his annual address to the military organization Oslo Militære Samfund earlier this week. He was clearly unhappy that efforts to hinder it have not succeeded. “The defense chief (Admiral Haakon Bruun Hanssen) has said that sexual harassment makes him furious,” […]
Missing skiers presumed dead
January 7, 2019
The season for so-called “top tours” on skis in Norway is off to “a tragic start” this year, enthusiasts conceded, after four tourists were officially determined to have been killed by an avalanche last week. Their deaths bring the total up to 20 just since 2014. Hans Markus Heiskel, age 25, is among those working […]
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