[ad_1]
Nils Per Sara wrote on Facebook on Monday: “Are you okay after yesterday’s incident? I must once again thank Kim Rainer Eira for her efforts on the scene. Without you, I could have been there without coverage.” Photo: Private
From his hospital bed in Ullevål, Nils Per Sara happily praises himself for not getting worse when the accident happened. He’s sure it could have gone very wrong when the ATV beat him, on a stone clock in no man’s land.
- Tom Skoglund (Altaposten)
– Without my friend, I don’t know how this would have gone, he tells Altaposten.
It was iFinnmark who brought up the case for the first time.
Started to slip
It was on Sunday that the reindeer herder launched himself against the reindeer herd in Korsfjord in Alta municipality together with Kim Rainer Eira, who belongs to the same reindeer herding district, 24 A Seiland. This weekend, the two and other members of the siida began work to move the herd from summer pasture to winter pasture on the Finnmark plateau.
While crossing Korsfjorddalen together with the main herd, they discovered a small group of reindeer that had become separated from the rest of the animals. When the main herd had gone through the valley, they decided to go find the other animals.
The two traveled separately, Eira first on a six-wheeler ATV, Sara right behind on a regular ATV. The trip went up a snowy hill.
– It wasn’t very steep, but it was snowing there. Kim Rainer arrived with the six-wheeler, I followed him. Halfway through, the ATV started to turn, and when I started to slide backwards, I realized where I was going, says Sara.
Hang up fast
The reindeer herder resolutely jumped off the ATV. But the bag of binoculars that he had hanging on a diagonal strap across his chest was stuck in the handlebars. Nils Per followed him and beat him with the ATV.
– I felt like I got a real blow to the head when the ATV flipped over.
Sara was not wearing a helmet when the accident occurred. Reindeer herders travel countless miles on ATVs and snowmobiles in connection with herding reindeer, and a helmet simply becomes too heavy to wear for such a long period of time, risking wear and tear and damage to the neck. as a result.
When the accident happened, his friend Kim Rainer was on the hill just above. He turned in time to catch the accident. When he saw things were going wrong, he turned the key to his ATV, set the parking brake, and crashed where his friend was lying and writhed in pain.
– I was in place incredibly fast, recalls Nils Per.
Kim Rainer was surprised to see it.
– I saw it for the first time from the side, and I realized that it was serious. His nose was simply pressed against his face by a protruding sharp stone. Blood spurted from his nose and he spat blood. I asked him “are you okay, are you okay?” and I noticed that I contacted him.
Almost accident
As Kim Rainer tried to make contact with Nils Per, they suddenly heard a sound from up the hill.
– The six-wheeler had started to roll and sped down the hill directly towards us. Kim Rainer managed to push me away before his six-wheeler hit us. It was really dramatic, recalls Nils Per.
Kim Rainer Eira had to be helped off the pitch as an injury prevented him from finishing the game. But with no coverage on the phone, he had to climb to the top to make a call.
I ran up the hill to call, and while doing so I called Nils Per several times to make sure he answered.
From AMK, it was quickly decided to send a Sea King rescue helicopter to the site. Kim Rainer found an approximate position and sent Sea King in the right direction.
Cold
Down the hill, Nils Per began to freeze.
– I was shaking properly and I thought I had to get moving. His eyes were so swollen that I didn’t see anything, so I had to follow his voice. I knew it was uphill, so I followed the tracks of the six-wheeler and oriented the 100 meters uphill.
When he reached the top, his friend, the pain became too great.
– I started screaming when I got up, recalls Nils Per Sara.
Eira took a sleeping bag and a wolf cloth and wrapped Sara up. The sheepdog was led to the wounded reindeer herder.
– I felt the heat in me while we waited for the helicopter to arrive.
Lit the sleeping bag
At one point, they heard the helicopter approach. But first the machine flew directly over the two, without seeing them.
– They missed us a bit and flew into the valley. I told my friend that I just had to set the sleeping bag on fire to make smoke. He did, and soon after they discovered us and came to us.
An hour after 113 was called, Nils Per Sara was in the helicopter, on his way to the hospital.
According to iFinnmark, which discussed the case Tuesday morning, police were notified of the incident at 3:45 p.m. Sunday.
FIXED HELP: Kim Rainer Eira was shocked when she saw the ATV flip over on her friend. But he managed to keep a cool head and got help for Nils Per Sara. Photo: Private
Broken
The first stop was the University Hospital of Northern Norway (UNN) in Tromsø. Here Sara was examined:
– My face is broken. I have fractures from ear to eye, between the eyes and the other eye and again to the ear. the nose is broken. I have mouth fractures on both sides of my face. The entire “middle part” of the face is loose. So it was a shock that I received.
UNN doctors discovered that they did not want to operate on the reindeer herder. He says doctors said there was some danger that an operation could cause him to lose his sight.
– So they decided to transfer me to Ullevål hospital. Here I am now, says Sara.
– Are you in pain now?
– No, I actually have very little pain. I received painkillers last night, after that I have not received anything, he says.
– How you feel?
– I am still swollen and I have double vision because one eye has fallen a little compared to the other. The doctors here plan to operate on me early tomorrow.
– Are you afraid of being annoyed in hindsight?
– I just hope to save my sight. We in reindeer herding are completely dependent on sight. Just losing sight of one eye will be serious, you think.
He kept the humor of the gallows
But even though he went through a serious incident, he has kept his humor:
– Losing your sight is the worst case. Of course, I hope this goes well, and that it does not get any but lasting. And, of course, that I get as healthy and pretty as before, he says and starts laughing.
– Doctors have said that the fractures are “fine”, with no bone remains here and there. But there will be a lot of steel plates, the doctors said. So I’ll probably weigh a good kilo more, he says and laughs again.
DRAMATIC: The bloody rock next to the ATV bears witness to the drama that unfolded here on Sunday afternoon. Photo: Kim Rainer Eira
HMS
Both the unfortunate reindeer herder and his friend are happy to be two when the accident happened. Sara says the policy for him and the other reindeer herders in his siida is that you should always be two-piece.
– We must think in HSE, and always being two is one of those measures. Today I am very happy that Kim Rainer was with me. Because it goes bad so fast. I don’t know how this would have been without him. Not least also because there was no mobile coverage where the accident occurred. I just have to recommend everyone else to work together in pairs.
Buddy Kim Rainer agrees.
– It’s scary to think about how this could have turned out. I’m glad I managed to keep a cool head, I didn’t panic and got a 113 call pretty quickly. Of course I was scared, but I managed to think clearly. When they flew him away and left me there with the two ATVs, he was simply sick, out of fear and shock. Because this could have really gone wrong, he says.
– I am also impressed by the strength that Nils Per had when he managed to get up from the scene of the accident and climb the hill where I was and asked for help. He must have had incredible willpower.
