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FREDRIKSTAD (VG) Adele Holberg (16) panicked when she ended up under the canoe on a school trip in Fredrikstad. Some of the youths who fell into the sea had to be transported ashore by helicopter.
What was originally supposed to be a kind of team spirit day for the first-time students of Glemmen Upper Secondary School turned into a nightmare when a strong wind blew until Wednesday morning.
They were on a canoe trip between the Mærrapanna and Foten bathing places in Fredrikstad when the wind raged. Of a group of 26, about 16 people must have ended up in the sea. Ten of them had to be rescued by helicopter.
The strong wind made the rescue operation challenging, both for those in the air and at sea.
– The challenge here was that they were scattered, so it was difficult to maintain control. They made landfall on islets and reefs that were inaccessible, says rescue leader Eirik Walle at the South Norway Main Rescue Center.
ONLY COLD AND WET: Those who ended up at sea on Wednesday should be unharmed, according to Glemmen Upper Secondary School principal Pål André Ramberg. Photo: Vilde Elgaaen
He was caught under the canoe
One of the students who participated in the trip was Adele Holberg (16). For her, it was dramatic when the canoe capsized.
– The weather was very nice and it was completely calm in the water when we went. On the way back to Mærrapanna, it started to blow a lot and there were big waves, says Adele.
It was Fredriksstad Blad who spoke to him first.
In the middle between Lyngholmen and the mainland, a wave hits the canoe and she and her friend end up in the water.
– I end up under the canoe and get a little scared. My friend ends up on the other side and probably doesn’t see me right away. When we meet, we lose control of the canoe and the paddles, and we are left there with nothing, he says.
GRATEFUL: When mother Kristin Holberg saw that something had happened on a canoe trip, she worried about her daughter Adele Holberg (16). She is happy that her daughter’s phone worked even after being in the water. Photo: Private
In the sea, they see another person who has also capsized and they swim towards them.
– We hang ourselves in that canoe, and finally an Archipelago Service boat arrives and picks us up.
She estimates that 15 minutes passed from the moment they capsized until they were rescued.
Adele says Wednesday night is going well and that she feels well cared for.
Mother Kristin Holberg is thankful that her daughter’s phone didn’t die in the water.
– We saw the newspaper warnings and called her. It’s amazing that it worked. We saw the drama in him when we read in the newspapers, and then we thought about what might have happened, Holberg says.
Some of the young people who fell into the sea during the canoe trip in Fredrikstad reached the shore of the reef in the strong wind. They had to be transported ashore by helicopter. Photo: Leif Smedbakken
Rejected everywhere
At 10:37 a.m., the message about people in the water came through the VHF network from a passing ship.
All emergency services are called and messages are also sent to all other ships that are nearby.
Among the ships that changed course and responded to the dramatic situation was the MS “Ny-Vigra III”.
The ship is chartered by Blue Cross’s Inspiria Science Center, and teaches school children about the sea.
Soft background radiation and marine biology on board the ship were scheduled for Å upper secondary school students this morning.
– We were on a biology trip where we fished and took water samples, and taught people a little about the diversity of the sea. We had been to Læra, where we planned a trawl cast, skipper Arild Jernæs tells VG.
SUDDEN WIND THROWS: Engineer Leif Smedbakken and Captain Arild Jernæs say the wind was violent and surprising. Photo: TORE KRISTIANSEN
When there were sudden and violent gusts of wind he decided to try fishing somewhere else.
– There was wind of up to 22 meters per second from the north, which was neither reported nor expected. We left the trawl somewhere else when the message arrived. Then we pull the net once and head into the area, Jernæs says.
Once there, Ås students are equipped with binoculars and are asked to search for people in the sea and on the many islets.
One of the girls in the class sees people on a reef and MS “Ny-Vigra III” reports it.
– Our ship is too deep, so we could not go in to rescue anyone. Then we would have ended up among those who had to be rescued, explains engineer Leif Smedbakken.
– Of course it is dramatic to see people on the reefs, but as long as we are where we are and they are discovered and help is on the way, we have control over it. It turned out well in the end and we’re very happy about that, adds Jernæs.
PARTICIPANT IN THE SEARCH: A tipper was able to take this photo of MS «Ny-Vigra III» participating in the rescue operation. Photo: VG-tipser
Unexpected weather
Principal Pål André Ramberg of Glemmen Upper Secondary School says they had been canoeing for several days.
– All the new students have such a day with canoeing and fishing, and they have done very well. For one of the groups today, there was a sudden strong wind, he says.
Ramberg is aware that they perform risk assessments and plan each activity. All students must also have worn life jackets. The weather was a surprise, you think.
– Why did you go out when the weather was so bad?
– The weather was not bad at first, and we have clear procedures beforehand and this was found to be justifiable. But it was a different situation than what we had considered beforehand, says the director.
STRONG WIND: It was blowing hard at Foten’s bathing place in Fredrikstad on Wednesday morning. This was also noted by Principal Pål André Ramberg at Glemmen Senior Secondary School. Photo: TORE KRISTIANSEN
The people Ås schoolchildren saw on the islet were picked up by a Sea King helicopter and transported to the cafe building at Foten spa.
There, everyone involved was gathered in one place, something that Walle at the South Norway Main Rescue Center is happy about.
– A pleasant and orderly reception was held so that everyone involved could be counted, so that you had an overview of who had been counted.
Walle says Wednesday’s dramatic event shows that emergency preparedness is working.
– It was a good demonstration of how rescue resources work. There was good coordination between public, voluntary and private, he says.
Jernæs and Smedbakken in MS “Ny-Vigra III” are in complete agreement with this.
– I must say it was very well coordinated. Everyone in the area came and it was amazing how quickly things happened, how quickly they came together. The emergency services work, there is no doubt, says the captain.
Sudden gust of wind
At 10.33, a warning of danger due to high winds was sent in the area. It was only a few minutes before the message about the people in the water arrived.
In the morning, the wind speed was between 8 and 9 meters per second. At 11 o’clock it was 23 meters per second.
– North winds were reported after 12 o’clock, but what we experienced was more than double what was anticipated. It has been quite extreme in relation to the messages, says the captain of MS «Ny-Vigra»
– Not reported, the weather that arrived. It was a shame that there were sea winds, because with light canoes they were washed ashore, adds engineer Smedbakken.
Watch Captain Arild Jernæs and engineer Leif Smedbakken in MS “Ny-Vigra III” talk about the rescue operation:
