On Monday, a young man was dramatically picked up from a steep ravine between the houses and the rock face on Grimmerhaugen in the center of Ålesund. He probably had a doctor there since the night of Sunday. His saving grace was two previous falls. The fire service, which had initially concentrated on searching at sea, suddenly realized that the steep area close to the pubs in the center should be checked. They had saved people there many years ago. – Quite quickly they saw that there was a person in a shaft, says fire chief Sindre Egeness. Fire chief, Sindre Egeness, says that this is one of the most demanding things they can face in their everyday life because it was crowded and difficult to get to. Photo: Øyvind Sandnes / news The man in his 20s had probably fallen around 10 metres. Rescuers had to climb down and lift him up on a stretcher, under the narrow, demanding conditions. Traumatic accident On Tuesday, Grimmerhaugen in Ålesund is basking in the sun and people are walking in the area. Simon Wille is back where he himself fell badly almost 16 years ago in a traumatic accident. He was also at the party. He remembers that he had to take a shortcut to the town hall square, where there was a concert. He did not fall exactly in the same place, but in the same area. – The fall itself is unclear to me, but I was hit with a violent bang, says Wille. Simon Wille The fall was around eight meters into a portico, and he did not get up on his own. He shouted for help, but it was many hours before someone in the street heard the shout and alerted the emergency services. Wille was sent to hospital with several fractures in his pelvis, back and ribs. It was many months before he was back on his feet. Today he thinks about the young man who experienced the same thing. – I hope he recovers, says Wille. Also in 2001, there was a fall accident in the vicinity. Large search operation On Sunday, a search operation was launched for the man in his 20s, when he was not found. He had been in town the night before. Friends and family searched for several hours on Sunday afternoon, and eventually the police were also involved in the case. The search continued through the night and into Monday. Then several tens of volunteers turned up at the town hall square in Ålesund to help in the search. Just after 2.30pm on Monday, the police reported that they had made a discovery of a person. A short time later it was confirmed that this was the missing man in his 20s. A large search operation was carried out for the man who was missing. Photo: Sindre Egenes / Ålesund fire brigade To assess safety There is a fence around the entire accident site and the police were on site on Tuesday to check whether more needs to be done to secure the area. – It is no higher than it is possible to climb over. We will assess whether it should be secured more or whether it is sufficient, together with Ålesund municipality, says Arne Lid Skodje. He is a section leader in the Møre og Romsdal police district. The police are now working further to find out what happened. They have brought in video surveillance from the town and are talking to the comrades who last saw him. The man in his 20s has been admitted to St. Olav’s hospital in Trondheim. On Tuesday, the police were back at the place where the accident happened. Photo: Øyvind Sandnes / news
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An earlier fall accident in Ålesund put firefighters on the trail of a missing man
