Several schoolchildren on a trip rescued from the sea

Emergency services moved to Lyngholmen in Fredrikstad after reports of people in the water as a result of capsizing canoes or boats, police reported at 10:47.

An hour later, after a massive rescue operation, the Police assures on Twitter that no one was injured, but that some are a bit cold.

Initially it was about 16 people being in the water, the Main Rescue Center told VG. All emergency services rushed to the scene, in addition to the lifeboat.

Students and teachers from two different schools were involved in two different accidents. Several were picked up by both helicopters and boats in the area.

Two different schools

An incident took place in Vispen. These were students from the Borge school.

– All students were rescued from the water without physical injury. The students are back at school and are being followed there. The school contacts parents on an ongoing basis, it writes in the press release.

The second capsize of the canoe took place on the outskirts of Slevik, with students from the Glemmen upper secondary school.

– Several canoes with Glemmen VGS students capsized on Wednesday morning on the outskirts of Slevik. Police claim that all the students were picked up from the water and transported ashore in Foten. From there, they were transferred to the Fredrikstad Health Center. Here, the emergency room and representatives of the municipality’s crisis team have prepared to receive them, according to Fredheim.

Communications manager E claim Fjellstad in Fredrikstad municipality says 22 students and two adults have been transported to the emergency room.

– They go to first grade in high school. There they are cared for and parents are notified. A family center has been created where parents can meet their children, she tells VG.

Eyewitnesses at the scene told VG that there were at least three helicopters in the air, one of them a SeaKing helicopter. Both the police boat and the fire boat and the lifeboat assisted in the water. It was easy over a large area down towards the Strømmangen lighthouse and towards Engelsviken and Larkollen.

It’s blowing hard in the area on Wednesday morning.

The main rescue center coordinated the rescue operation.

– There are an estimated 16 people at sea, HRS Sør’s Eric Willassen told VG at the start of the operation. Then the rescue helicopter was minutes away.

There was talk of one or more high school classes on one trip, a total of 24 people going in canoes and kayaks.

– Now we know there were 24 people at the party. Now we are collecting more people. Several have been picked up, both by boats and helicopters, Willassen said at 11:39 a.m., just ten minutes before they were all tallied.

– It’s windy in the area, and that may have been the reason for the rollover, he says.

M / S Ny-Vigra, which is rented by the Blue Cross Inspiria Science Center, was involved in the rescue operation. This is confirmed by Operations Manager Linda Arnesen.

– We have an experienced skipper who reported very bad weather, and a strong change in weather with gusts of 22 m / s and 70 km / h. We received a call from the rescue company as we were in the area.

On the ship, there were high school students from Å who had training in soft background radiation.

– Students were told to be vigilant and found two pieces that reported position. The skipper felt that it was prudent to put an inflatable boat and quickly called for a speedboat that could pick up two students. We got very good help from the students who were on the boat, he says.

Arnesen describes the collaboration as very good and the rescue operation as very successful.

Principal Pål André Ramberg of Glemmen Upper Secondary School tells VG that there were three groups at sea in relation to days outdoors at school.

– For one of the groups, there was a fast wind that changed the weather.

– Why do you go out in such bad weather?

The weather was not bad at first and we have clear procedures beforehand. It was considered justifiable.

– Violent throws

Thomas Mathiesen has a cabin in Vikane by Hankø:

– I see that the rescue helicopter has picked up some people and left them on the ground. He has returned to the scene of the accident. Plus, it’s a defense helicopter, I think. There are several police ships and many civilian ships at sea, Mathisen tells VG during the operation.

Hankø Marina’s chief operating officer, Atle M. Staff, is located approximately five kilometers from Lyngholmen. Report strong winds.

– It exploded a lot at ten o’clock. The molds come from the north. It is still white in the strait. According to the weather forecast, 15–19 meter seconds have been reported in the area. It is known to be a weather resistant area next to the Strømmangen lighthouse, he says.

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