Rescue after skiers in Svalbard – NRK Troms and Finnmark

Crews from the Red Cross and the Governor worked for many hours to recover the man on the Rabot Glacier (482 msl) in Svalbard.

Rescuers who were on their way to help the man had to turn back, reports Governor’s office at 10 p.m. The crew had to get off the glacier due to weather conditions.

The skier is informed of the situation. The mayor, in consultation with the Longyearbyen Red Cross Aid Corps, will begin new trials as soon as weather permits.

Because of the snowy weather and poor visibility, the crew also had to call off a rescue once before. according to Svalbardposten Have they made another attempt since this afternoon.

One of the two patrols had to surrender early in the evening, and only one was left. This was reported by the head of the civil service, Bjorn Inge Knutsen, to the NRK.

– They can zigzag for a few metres, and then they have to stop. The weather is very changeable. Whether or not he is going out tonight, I dare not say anything about it. We have to think about their safety (lifeguards, magazines) too, otherwise there will be a mess.

According to Yr weather service, the temperature is minus 14 degrees at the location and the strong winds are at a force of 23 meters per second, with gusts of up to 30 degrees Celsius.

Helicopters and patrols on the ground tried to reach the skier. The weather remains challenging with strong winds and the so-called “.bleachIn the area. The helicopter operation earlier in the day was called off.

Fall into a tent

According to Svalbardposten, the emergency message arrived on Friday morning. The man, a foreign tourist, will be in his own tent. Knutsen says they are in contact with the skier every hour.

– It’s drenched and cooled. But given the circumstances, you can probably say it’s doing quite well.

– He says maybe the weather wasn’t ready for him.

On Friday morning, the skier called the main rescue center and asked for help to get back to civilization. He must have been on a two-day skiing trip.

According to the weather forecast, conditions should improve through Saturday morning.

– But we hope it will be taken out now, without being able to promise anything, says Knutsen.

It was first reported that the man was in Sassendalen, which lies below the glacier. From Longyearbyen it’s just over 60 kilometers to Rabotbreen. From Sassendalen’s furthest point, it’s just under 40 kilometers.