Press "Enter" to skip to content

BAILING OUT: Two kayakers rescued after flooding leaves them in the water of Isfjorden for two hours

0 0
Read Time:1 Minute, 0 Second

Two Danish men unable to pump out water flooding their kayak in Isfjorden, leaving them in the sea with their dry suits, were rescued after triggering their emergency beacon late Sunday night, according to The Governor of Svalbard.

The men, one in his 20s and the other in his 40s, were paddling from Longyearbyen to Pyramiden in a tandem kayak when it began slowly taking on water at Diabasodden, Police Chief Lt. Mathilde Wergeland told Svalbardposten. He said although the weather and seas were generally calm along the route, there can be rough areas where several fjords intersect.

The kayakers set off their emergency beacon at 11:10 p.m. when they ended up in the water. Helicopter rescuers had difficulty spotting the men and it took about two hours before they were lifted aboard the aircraft.

Both men, one of whom was suffering from the cold, were brought to Longyearbyen Hospital where they were treated for a few hours and released.

“Even if you have good equipment, it will be cold to stay so long in the water in Isfjorden,” Wergeland said.

The kayak has not been found and the men are requesting anyone locating it contact officials.

 

 

About Post Author

Mark Sabbatini

I'm a professional transient living on a tiny Norwegian island next door to the North Pole, where once a week (or thereabouts) I pollute our extreme and pristine environment with paper fishwrappers decorated with seemingly random letters that would cause a thousand monkeys with a thousand typewriters to die of humiliation. Such is the wisdom one acquires after more than 25 years in the world's second-least-respected occupation, much of it roaming the seven continents in search of jazz, unrecognizable street food and escorts I f****d with by insisting they give me the platonic tours of their cities promised in their ads. But it turns out this tiny group of islands known as Svalbard is my True Love and, generous contributions from you willing, I'll keep littering until they dig my body out when my climate-change-deformed apartment collapses or they exile my penniless ass because I'm not even worthy of washing your dirty dishes.
Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %

Average Rating

5 Star
0%
4 Star
0%
3 Star
0%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%