A Lithuanian man in his 30s is believed to have died after falling overboard in the Barents Sea. The man worked on the fishing vessel Hunter, which is affiliated with the shipping company Havøy Kystfiske. – Based on information from the crew, there is reason to believe that this is an occupational accident, operations manager Karl Erik Thomassen tells news – Relatives abroad have been notified in the case, and the shipping company is now working to notify the families of the other employees on the boat, says police attorney Jacob Bergh. The coast guard is on its way to the fishing boat from Longyearbyen, but there is a storm in the area, and it therefore takes time to get there. Havøy Kystfiske writes in a press release that they are doing everything they can to look after the crew on board. The shipping company states that the man fell overboard at approximately 18.10. The search for him was started immediately, and continued through the night. The emergency team of the shipping company has worked closely with HRS to try to find the missing person. The cause of the accident has not been clarified, but the police and the National Accident Investigation Board will investigate this further. Still looking for Odd Kristian Dahle in the employer organization Fiskebåt is the contact person for Havøy Kystfiske. He says that the crew has resumed the search that ended last night. The weather makes the search operation extra challenging. – There is both wind, waves and snow showers, but several other boats in the area are helping to search, says Dahle. He says that it is uncertain how long the search operation will last, but that the crew will meet a crisis team in Tromsø who will take care of them when they are ready to leave the scene. – For the next of kin, it obviously means a lot to find the person in question, even if the person has died, says Dahle.
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– Several boats involved in the search – news Troms and Finnmark
