1 in 2Photo: Frank Hawksby
Police say a boat with three people may have landed in a waterfall in Tokakgelet (VG) Guam Municipality.
– We are still in the recovery phase. The more time it takes, the worse it will be. But we are waiting for daylight and will continue the search, ”said Atlee Birkland, chief of police, at 7 a.m. Monday.
Large-scale rescue operations have been underway in the municipality of Guam in Hortanger since 9.30pm on Sunday. Emergency services were informed that the small boat carrying three adults and a dog in Tokajelselva had been cut off from the current.
According to police, the woman who reported the incident to the emergency service has been in contact with the missing. She must have lost her sight as the boat crossed the water to get to a room.
– This is a room where they are attached, so they had to cross the river there. That’s why they passed, says Birkland.
Police fear they fell over 15 meters and then disappeared into a large and steep waterfall with several demanding and steep sections.
Relatives of the missing have been notified and will be tracked down in the Guam municipality according to the task force chief. Among the missing were two adult men and a one-year-old woman. The people are Norwegians, but according to the police there are no permanent residents in the area.
Rescue work continues Monday morning with police, firefighters, health, the Red Cross, Norwegian People’s Assistance and Norwegian rescue dogs. Malkanes says about 30-40 people are involved in the rescue effort.
– Permanent surveillance positions have been deployed on bridges across the river, and there is a small, limited search across the river, duty officer Ronald Trotningswig 06 told VG on Monday morning night efforts on the 110 transfer.
According to Drotningsvik, no persons, animals or objects have been found since a paddle was found in the river just before midnight.
So far the weather has been bad enough to make it impossible to fly by helicopter. So the drone will be the first opportunity the rescue team looks for from the sky.
– At the moment, there are river rescue teams from Nordfjordeid. They specialize in working on tributaries. When the light comes on, we use the drone, he continues.
This waterfall is located in a valley with steep sides on both sides of the river. Due to the high rainfall, it is very difficult to get around in it as there is high water supply.
Rescue crews keep boats at sea and search for where the river exits in Fjord.
Challenging conditions
VG has been working on the rescue operation for several hours since Monday night. It is raining with heavy rain, wind and fog.
Police describe the rescue operation as very difficult. The air ambulance and rescue helicopter had to return on Sunday night due to air conditions.
At 01.40am, duty officer Ronald Trotskinswick at 110 Switchboard said special forces of the fire brigade would return after several hours of searching. They were sent from Bergen to that place.
– They don’t have to do much now. The rescue operation is now about search. The first attempt is over, and then we send our team back to Bergen, he says.
But police have insisted that the operation is still a rescue operation. This means that one still has the hope of finding the missing alive.
Police were first notified that three people had been stabbed at 21.33 on Sunday.
The edges of the river were seen
At 23.50, Drotningsvik reports that a paddle was found in the river. He says they are still looking for water. But it is now “reasonably certain” that, after many years of discovery, the dinghy descended into the falls.
Birkland, the police’s operations manager, confirms that a paddle was found “under the river”. On Monday morning he had no further information about this year.
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No observation was made as the boat went into the waterfall. According to duty officer Drotningsvik, the persons remained on the boat until the reported caller saw them.
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