The two schoolmates who died in the boat accident in Seljordsvatnet were both refugees. The boat was found, but a teacher is still missing after the accident.
“The search continues with substantial resources and assistance from volunteers,” police said Friday.
The accident occurred at 14:00 on Thursday when a small pleasure boat with six people aboard hit ground at Seljordsvatnet in Telemark.
Two men aged 20 and 19 died after going under in the water while a third is still missing. The others managed to swim to safety themselves.
– Our refugees
Five of those who were on the boat trip were young adults and attended upper secondary or further adult education, advises the councilor in Bø municipality Åse Egeland to Dagbladet.
“They were all young adults and minor refugees,” she said.
One of the men that has been confirmed dead after the accident had moved to Norway alone, without family, according to Egeland. The other who died has some family in Bø, and Egeland said that his relatives have been notified.
The missing person is a teacher, Operations Manager Sigrid Dahl from the police department in Central and West Telemark informed NTB. She does not want to comment about age or gender.
“This is a small community here and we do not want more identification than necessary,” she says.
The police are reluctant to give more information in the case. They confirm that the boat that was used has been found and is secured, but will not yet say anything about what may have caused the accident or what has been said in the interrogation.
According to rescue leader Jan Lillebø of the main rescue center of southern Norway, none of the six in the boat was wearing a life jacket when the accident occurred. The police can not confirm this at the time.
“This is something we must come back to,” said Dahl in the police.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today
