OSLO: A bus carrying several foreign tourists went off the road and ended up partially submerged in a lake near the Raftsundet strait that separates the Lofoten archipelago from the Norwegian mainland, killing three people and injuring four, police said on Thursday (Dec 26).
“Many of the passengers on the bus were foreign nationals,” police said, adding that 58 people were impacted.
Passengers from eight countries were on board: China, France, India, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore and South Sudan.
The Lofoten archipelago is a popular winter destination to watch the northern lights.
Police said some of the evacuated passengers were brought to a local school while three were transported to hospital by helicopter.
“The weather conditions in the region are bad, complicating rescue operations,” local police said in a statement.
Strong wind gusts are currently hitting the area.
“The priority now is to treat the injured and an investigation will be launched to clarify what transpired,” Norwegian news agency NTB cited Nordland police officer Bent Are Eilertsen as saying.
He added it was proving difficult to contact relatives due to the lack of a complete list of passengers and the number of nationalities.
According to Norwegian media reports, at least one Singaporean was slightly injured in the accident.
Responding to queries from CNA, the Norwegian embassy in Singapore said it had not been notified of any Singaporeans being among the dead.
It added that the municipality where the accident occurred had activated its crisis-response team and that they are ensuring that passengers who are not being cared for in hospital “are all taken care of and have someone to talk to about the accident”.
