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TWO DEATHS: Saturday’s avalanche on Jan Mayen claimed two lives. The dead are a man in his 30s and a woman in his 50s, both civilian employees of the Armed Forces. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum
The man who survived the Jan Mayen avalanche is said to have spent two hours fighting the masses of snow.
It appears in the daily operations of the Armed Forces about the dramatic incident.
– Jan Mayen’s landslide was around 1:45 PM on Saturday afternoon. Three civilian employees of the Armed Forces were captured by the avalanche. One of them managed to break free after being buried in the avalanche for two hours. He was then notified of the incident, the communications manager at Cyber Defense, Knut Grandhagen, tells VG.
The rescue teams immediately moved from the Armed Forces base in Jan Mayen to the site in Borgdalen on the west side of the island.
At 5.30 p.m., the two missing were found in the avalanche, which is estimated to be about 100 meters wide.
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Two dead
The missing were confirmed dead at 19 on Saturday.
The dead are a woman in her 50s and a man in her 30s, who hail from Vestland and Nordland counties, respectively. Family members have been notified.
They were both part of Jan Mayen’s winter team, which consists of just 18 people. The winter crew have been on the island in the Norwegian Sea, which is about 1,000 kilometers west of Norway, since late September, according to Grandhagen.
The Armed Forces do not know the details of the course of events, apart from the fact that the three who were carried away by the landslide were on a private trip. According to the police, they trained for an expedition.
BLOWN: Jan Mayen is located in the Norwegian Sea, about 1000 kilometers west of Norway. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum
Clean the runway
An interrogation of the man who survived the avalanche will take place Sunday, police say. The survivor must be slightly injured after the incident.
Jan Mayen’s staff is deeply affected by the deaths. VG has been in contact with the station commander, but he refers to the communications apparatus of the Armed Forces.
– The main task of the station manager now is to take care of his people. Also, you have a practical task; and is that the runway must be clear so that it can accommodate a Hercules plane. The Armed Forces will send support personnel to the base as soon as possible, Grandhagen says.
SORROW: On Sunday morning, Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H) sent her condolences. Photo: Terje Pedersen
Health personnel and trauma teams have digital contact with base personnel until support personnel arrive. The Hercules plane probably won’t get a chance to land at Jan Mayen until Monday.
Grandhagen claims that there has been strong weather recently on the arctic island. Therefore, it takes some time to clear the runway.
Prime Minister: – Deep pain
On Sunday morning, Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H) sends her condolences to those affected.
Previously, the Minister of Defense commented on the tragic accident:
– Now my thoughts and my deepest condolences go first of all to the family, to the small and close community of Jan Mayen, but also to my friends and colleagues in the Armed Forces. It hurts when such tragedies hit us, Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen says in a statement.
Defense Chief Eirik Kristoffersen has also stated:
– Our people do important work there every day, on Norwegian territory, but still far from home. My thoughts go to the relatives and friends of the deceased and his closest companions. All of us in the Armed Forces think of you and feel with you in this sad moment, he says.
