Increase in number of Norwegians dying abroad
abroad in recent years.
Figures that Nettavisen has received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs show that in 2011 the number was 981 deaths abroad.
The figures include deaths registered at Norwegian foreign military service bases, but they are not always registered, so
the numbers may be higher.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs doesn’t give statistics on the causes of death, but several of the deaths were mentioned in
the media, such as road accidents in Thailand and Sweden, a parachute accident in Switzerland, a drowning accident in
Thailand, and a paraglider accident in Mexico.
Killed by elephant
A Norwegian died last year after being attacked by an elephant in Malawi.
Assistant information director, Emma Elisabeth Vennesland, of European Travel Insurance, said that it appears that most of the deaths were among Norwegians who are residents abroad, but the company has seen a significant increase in illnesses among Norwegians who are on holiday.
‘Older and sick travellers also more frequently pass away than before. Many take trips to destinations where the chances of getting sick are greater, such as Eastern Europe, Thailand, Brazil, Vietnam and Cambodia. In recent years, there’s also been more than double the numbers using air ambulance flights for transportation to Norway’, Vennesland told Nettavisen.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today
