A sergeant in Harden’s engineering battalion at Skjold died from the injuries he sustained in an accidental explosion at Mauken shooting field in Målselv in Inner Troms on Friday.
‘There were three people present when the accident occurred. The other two are apparently physically unscathed’, said a spokesman for the army, Lieutenant Colonel Ole Johan Skogmo.
The explosion happened during an explosives course at 17.30 on Friday.
‘The woods are used by all the engineering battalions at Skjold,’ Skogmo told NTB news.
The deceased officer is 21 years old Hågen Skattum from Voss. It was his first year as Sergeant, according to the Armed Forces statement. His family have been notified.
‘This is a deeply tragic event, and our thoughts now go to the relatives, and his fellow soldiers in the Engineering Battalion at Skjold,’ said his chief of command, Hearen Odin Johannessen.
‘The event will be investigated,’ said Skogmo. He told VG newspaper that there was an accidental explosion involving a portable mining system.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today
