– After all, I have been lucky, even though I was badly injured, says machine driver Eiríkur Orri Hermansson. It was the Icelandic online newspaper RÚV that first wrote about the dramatic incident. Hermansson and three colleagues in Mesta were on Friday 17 February in Bakfjorden in Måsøy municipality to open culverts along the road in connection with the recent mild weather. According to Hermansson, the terrain was apparently dry and fine when they started. Suddenly, meltwater began to flood into the roadway. – I tried to get away, but I was too late. In an instant, the entire cabin of the machine was filled with slush. And I was stuck. Then I felt the machine start to slide out towards the edge. Then we tipped over, he says. This is how the excavator Eiríkur Orri Hermansson saw after the trip down the steep slope. Photo: Tommy Arnesen / Mesta Broken shoulder Hermansson was helplessly trapped inside the excavator as it rolled down the steep slope. After a few tens of meters he was thrown into a river of snow and water. – I thought it was the last. I had to wade and swim as hard as I could to keep my head above water. And I managed that, says the machine driver, who despite the injuries believes he has been lucky. – I have a cut on my head and a broken shoulder. And I have bruises all over. But I’m just thankful that I survived. The odds of surviving in such cases are unlikely to be particularly high, he says. In the area Hermansson worked, there is very poor coverage. Neither the mobile network nor the emergency network has a signal. Therefore, a colleague of his had to drive quite a distance to call for emergency help. Now Hermansson has only one prayer: – This should be rectified. Both Hermannsson and his colleague were sent by rescue helicopter to the hospital in Hammerfest for treatment and a check-up. Two Mesta employees, a car, an excavator and a steamer were taken by the slush avalanche in Bakfjorden in Måsøy municipality on Friday. Photo: Trond Jøran Nilsen / RegObs – Did everything right Mesta is the contractor on the section between Smørfjord in Porsanger municipality and Havøysund in Måsøy municipality. The client is Troms and Finnmark County Municipality. Head of communications and public relations in Mesta, Hulda Tronstad, confirms that they had four people working south of Bakfjorden on Friday. – Our people handled the incident very professionally and, as far as we can judge, have done everything right in a dramatic situation. Our main task has subsequently been to take care of the employees who have been involved in the case, says Tronstad. The communications manager goes on to say that the employees receive regular training in handling just such situations. – They have recently been on an avalanche course. We want our people to be as well equipped as possible to handle the various tasks they face when they are out on the roads. Mesta’s motto is that we should get people out. Even when the forces of nature play against us, says Hulda Tronstad. Four were caught in the slush avalanche It was the Police in Finnmark who announced on Twitter on Friday that four people had been caught in a slush avalanche. In addition to an excavator, a passenger car and a steamer. – We received a message at 11.15pm that there had been a landslide of slush and water in the area of Bakfjorden, south of Havøysund and north of Snefjord. Operations manager Bjørn Tormod Syversen in the Finnmark police district told news that after they had sent out the Twitter message. In addition to the police and ambulance, the main rescue centre, the Red Cross and Norwegian rescue dogs were notified. All four had managed to get themselves out before rescuers arrived. The police stated that they had proceeded to a plowing station in Snefjord. – Two of the four were flown on to Hammerfest hospital. The extent of the damage is not known, but apparently not serious, Syversen said. The southern avalanche went far beyond the plain before it stopped. The passenger car was transported the longest. In the middle we can make out the steamer. The excavator is buried at the foot of the hill. Photo: Trond Jøran Nilsen / RegObs Landslide challenges The county council for transport in Troms and Finnmark, Agnete Masternes Hanssen (Ap), is happy that it went well with all those involved. They are now following up the incident with the contractor. Masternes Hanssen further says that Friday’s mudslide paints a picture of the avalanche challenges along the roads in Troms and Finnmark. That is the reason why the county council has a focus on avalanche protection. – This confirms the concerns about the landslide challenges and that we must secure the roads well enough, says the county councillor. Masternes Hanssen says that work is being done to get funds for avalanche protection through the National Transport Plan (NTP). County councilor for transport in Troms and Finnmark, Agnete Masternes Hanssen, says that they are working hard to get funds for avalanche protection through the National Transport Plan. Photo: SUNNIVA TONSBERG GASKI/Troms and Finnmark County Municipality / SUNNIVA TONSBERG GASKI
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Eiríkur had an angel’s watch – was taken by an avalanche – news Troms and Finnmark
