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The accident took place at 10 a.m. Norwegian time on Sunday.
– I can confirm that two of our colleagues died in a tragic explosives accident in the Solomon Islands, Norwegian Under-Secretary-General for People’s Aid Per Nergaard tells Dagbladet.
A press release states that the dead are Australian citizen Trent Lee and British citizen Stephen “Luke” Atkinson.
No one else was injured as a result of the accident, Nergaard says.
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– very tragic
– This is a very tragic accident, and all we know is that there has been an explosion. We are now working to clarify the causes and help the families of the deceased, says Dagbladet’s secretary general.
Nergaard says that work in the Solomon Islands will be temporarily halted and that Norwegian People’s Aid, together with local law enforcement authorities, will investigate what happened.
– Are there Norwegians on the islands?
– No, in the Solomon Islands we only have a small international staff and local employees who contribute to the work.
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Large amounts of explosives
Norwegian People’s Aid has been helping Solomon Islands authorities since 2019 to develop a centralized database of the large quantities of explosives from WWII found in the archipelago.
– Norwegian People’s Aid has the safety of all of our employees at the forefront and spends significant resources on training and emergency preparedness, but unfortunately it is impossible to fully protect against the dangers explosives cleaners are exposed to, says Nergaard.
He says he has 25 years of experience in the profession, and that these types of accidents happen from time to time, but fortunately it is very rare.
– Norwegian People’s Aid has approximately 1,850 deminers in 19 countries around the world. Your task is to clean up ammunition debris from wars to ensure a better and safer environment, Nergaard says.
