The chaos at Holmenkollen is being evaluated

Oslo. Metro (Subway) train at Besserud station. Holmenkollen. Photo: Berit Roald / NTB scanpix

The police and the organiser of the ski party at Holmenkollen will find out what went wrong to create the chaos on Saturday. Sunday is likely to be far more peaceful.

 

“This is being evaluated. There has been skiing at Holmenkollen for years, and we have experienced a lot of people, and filled the Kollen before. But what happened on Saturday must be evaluated to see if something can be done differently next year”, said Tor Grøttum, operations chief of Oslo police district to NTB news on Sunday morning.

Over 100 people were treated for injuries by Red Cross volunteers on Saturday.
Additionally, seven people suffered electric shock-related injuries after being found on the subway track. Five of them were guards who helped. A woman was severely injured after falling onto the subway track at Voksenlia station.

Less preparation

“After we got into the situation on Saturday night, there have been no comparable events to talk about. There have been significantly fewer people in the field and much less preparation for Sunday than on Friday night”, said the operation manager.

The police made no comment about the extraordinarily dangerous overcrowding in central Oslo on New Years Eve at the turn of the Millennium.
“There are two widely different days. On Friday night there are far more people staying overnight in the woods, with much more stuff. The organisers expected 100,000 people over the whole weekend, but when 100,000 arrived on Saturday alone, there were too many people”, said Grøttum.

“It was challenging for the emergency services to come out, and among some of the people there was little understanding, people broke barriers, it became a mess, and a much more difficult situation. It was a minority overall, but still a significant number when so many people were a part of it”, he said.

Strengthened preparedness

The police have strengthened the crew in the area in and around Holmenkollen on Sunday, and are prepared for it to be challenging when everyone goes home at the same time.

“We have strengthened our preparedness and have our own regime in Holmenkollen. We take the experience from Saturday, but count on fewer people and a more family oriented Sunday, and therefore believe that the winding up will take place in an orderly manner”, said Grøttum.

“But, there are a lot of people and we are prepared for everyone to go home at the same time. The subway will be running as many trains as they can”, he said.

 

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today