Hurtigruten Leaving – Winter Festival Over
Hurtigruten just left, hurrying out the fjord. It means that the Winter festival in Narvik is almost at an end.
Hurtigruten is leaving Narvik after having served the city for the duration of the winter festival - Vinterfestuka 2012
Beautiful Painted Sky
I just shot this photo of the evening sky above Narvik. Pastels all around with the mountains running like a white jagged edge throuh the landscape.
Pastels all around
Update March 18. 1200 zulu time – My Heart goes out
On a weather worn flagpost the State and War flag of Norway is flying at half mast.
His Majesty the King of Norway, fellow officers and the chaplain has just finished the memorial service at the Evenes Air Force Base, commemorating the loss of five fellow officers.
My heart goes out to the families of the loved and lost crew. I also send my thoughts to all the personnel that have risked, and still are risking their lives in order to bring home the lost crew from an altitude of 2 kilometers. They have defied hurricane winds, snow, visibility of – sometimes just a few meters – dodging the avalanches that has come down the mountains, as they battled for days to rescue the lost crew.
Now – unfortunately – all hope is lost…
The Norwegian flag flying on half mast at Evenes Airstation, in connection with the memorial service for the norwegian Hercules crew that crashed in Kebnekaise (photo: Norwegian Armed Forces)
Five Stars Fell
Remembering Hercules C-130J "Siv" and the crew of five
Update March 17 – 1645 zulu time – thousands of pieces of downed Hercules scattered over large area
Unfortunately it looks like there is no hope of finding the crew of five from the transport plane “Siv” that went missing the other day.
Thousands of pieces of the aircraft has been found on the mountain Kebnekaise at an altitude of around 2,000 meters. The transport plane was en route from Evenes, Norway to Kiruna, Sweden to pick up, and transport military personnel back to Norway. This tragedy could have been much bigger, but that is probably not any consolation for the ones left behind from the crew of five…
Pieces from the transport aircraft partly covered covered in snow near down to the right in this photo (photo: Norwegian Special Forces, FSK, HJK, MJK)
There they are again – Beautiful contrasts
Narvik in between the showers this evening…
Beautiful contrasts of snow showers in the Ofoten Fjord - Narvik to the right
Evening sun shines on the city Narvik - in between the snow showers
Hurtigruten “Richard With” steaming in to the harbor bassin
Caught this “little boat” the Hurtigrute ship “Richard With” just now. “Richard With” is small (121.8 meters) compared to the iron ore carrier “Vogerunner” (176,838 DWT) by pier 5 in the background.
Hurtigruten is a really old coastal route running continously up and down the coastline og Norway with 13 ships. Ironically the head quarters of this coastal shipping line is located in Narvik, but the ships doesn’t frequent this harbor. It would take too long sailing in and out the Vestfjord. Well, that’s at least the explanation I’ve heard.
So why is on of Hurtigruten in Narvik today. Well, the city celebrates the building of the iron ore railway (1898-1902) from the Swedish mountain and mining city of Kiruna and Narvik becoming a city in 1903. This Vinterfestuka (Winter Festival Week) is an annual celebration and each year one of the Hurtigruten ships is in port, serving as hotel and restaurants for the festival, and it takes small fjord cruises, as was the case when I caught it sailing into port today.
"Richard With" - one of the ships serving "The most beautiful sea voyage in the World" - steaming into port. In the background the bulk/iron ore carrier "Vogerunner" (176,838 DWT)
Steaming to port: Hurtigruten ship "Richard With". In the background - tall building - the brand new Rica Hotel, a competitor to the hotel and restaurant service provided by "Richard With". Op to the right, the polytechnical college in Narvik.
Update March 17. 1200 zulu time – wreckage found…
The missing Hercules C-130J transport plane – with a crew of 5 – I have been writing about the last couple of days, is confirmed found near the top of the highest mountain in Sweden, Kebnekaise. Norwegian patrols are at the top now giving assistance to Swedish Rescue Climbers rappelling into the glacier area where the wreckage is spread.
The chances of finding the crew safe and sound is unfortunately bleak.
The weather in the area is somewhat better today, but not good. The risk og avalanches is very high indeed.
Crash site in the high alpine area - (photo: Google Earth)
Images from the P-3C Orion , which is searching after the missing Hercules in Kebnekaise, Sweden (Photo: Royal Norwegian Air Force)
EOIR from SAR searching for the missing c-130_05 (photo: Royal Norwegian Air Force)
The Swedish hunter battalion search for the norwegian Hercules in Kebnekaise, Sweden (photo: Norwegian Armed Forces)
Update 1600 zulu time – Watch police helicopter land in the search area
If you have the patients to watch 10-12 seconds with Norwegian commercials first, this video gives a pretty good impression about the weather conditions in the search area and what the rescue teams have to battle with in the Sweedish mountains… http://www.vgtv.no/#!id=50577
Police helicopter trying to land near Kebnekaise-VG-TV
Update 1540 zulu time – Possible wreckage observed by mountain peak
It’s been more than 24 hour since the Hercules disappeared. There has been made some observations by a Norwegian Orion surveillance plane of some orange material near a mountain top. Right now a Norwegian Sea King is trying to fly into the area, but the weather is grim. A British surveillance plane (E-2C Hawkeye) is en route from England to Sweden to assist in the search.
The risk of avalanches is extreme and the progress is slow going.
Archive: A SAR helicopter is trying to get into the area. (photo: Royal Norwegian Air Force)
An E-2C Hawkeye is en route from England to assist in the search for the five crew members who went down in the Norwegian Hercules more tha 24 hours ago. (Photo: Wikipedia/Jonathan Snyder)
Update 1100 zulu time – Still not found
The weather is really bad and there is still no trace from the missing Norwegian Hercules. And as time goes by, the chances for finding survivors are diminishing in the freezing and stormy weather. According to the news channel NRK, the radarlog shows that the plane flew towards the highest mountain in Sweden, Kebnekaise at a level 100 meters higher. The theory now is that the plane, for unknown reasons has crashed into the mountain.
The crew members has been released to the media.
Update 0900 zulu time – Denmark, Sweden and Norway
Right now the good neighbors of the Nordic Countries have pooled their ressources and although they have searched all night, new and rested troops are taking their way up the valleys and mountains to regain the terrain that was lost due to the extreme weather during the night.
Update 0830 zulu time – Orion spotted heat signature – no results
As of 0830 zulu time, the Norwegian transport plane that went down in the mountains yesterday with a crew of four men and one woman, has still not been found.
The weather in the area has been terrible with visibility as low as 20 meters and the treasonous mountain terrain still pose a threat – there is a very real chance of avalanches.
Earlier today a long range reconnaissance plane – Orion P3 – picked up a faint heat signal – but by the time the ground troops arrived there was nothing there to be found. Animals in the mountains have been known to give off heatsignals that can give these false positives.
But no stone is left unturned. The weather should be clearing up today and the search continues.
All we can do here in the lowlands is hope and pray for the best both for the missing crew and the brave troops out to find them.
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