It was at 1 pm on Friday that a boat with seven people on board – a Swedish family with two children, two more Swedes and a Swedish fishing guide living in Norway – capsized in Nappstraumen in Norwegian Lofoten.
One of the children, a Swedish girl in middle school age, is still missing on Saturday morning. During the night, ships from the Norwegian Coast Guard have continued the search efforts. Also from land, police and volunteers have participated in attempts to find the missing person.
The weather with strong winds has made it impossible for smaller boats to get out. But now it looks more favorable, says Håkon Kjøllmoen at the Norwegian Rescue Service just before 8 am on Saturday morning.
Two to hospital
Of the other six people, a father and a child are said to have been taken to hospital, while the others are reported to be unharmed. The situation is said to be stable for the two who were taken to hospital, reports VG.
During the operation, a person from Redningsselskapet, the Norwegian equivalent of the Sea Rescue Society, died, reports Norwegian media. It is unclear exactly what happened. The person was flown quickly to land, but the person's life could not be saved.
The accident occurred during a day trip with the Swedish sports fishing organizer Nordic Sea Angling, which sells package tours and guided tours.
It's pretty inexplicable, because it happened with our largest boat, which is 33 feet, in a fairly weather-protected area with an experienced guide. But a current has come from behind which has made the boat capsize. It should not and should not be able to happen, that the boat capsizes for that, but it has happened, says Jimmy Andersson, CEO and owner of Nordic Sea Angling, to Expressen.
Strong winds
Henrik Heitmann, who was in the area, tells Expressen that he witnessed the accident from his window at 1 pm.
I saw how the boat was upside down. There were strong winds and waves. We saw how people were sitting on top of the overturned boat. One person was missing and we were told that it was under the boat. Then the boat was pulled towards land, he says.
The Norwegian Sea Rescue Society will hold a press conference at 12 pm on Saturday.
