On Friday evening, Bjørn Fjukstad gave his first sign of life to the outside world after being missing for two weeks at sea. He was able to call a family member and let them know that he was somewhere outside Andøya in Nordland. To Vol.no, the 70-year-old says that he did not feel any fear after he lost engine power and drifted around the sea for days. – I spent the days reading and tinkering with things on board. There was plenty of time to sleep and eat too. But I got tired of rationing bread and water. Furthermore, he tells the newspaper that he tried to take it as a normal boat trip. – There is not much else to do but wait for the right wind. And take the time to help. Remember, I went to sea when I was 15 – and have been at sea a lot. The long-time miner and former leader of the Svalbard Labor Party, Bjørn Fjukstad, was found on Friday after being missing at sea for two weeks. Photo: Tarjei Abelsen / news – It’s special – It’s special. And a good feeling when you came back yesterday and could think that he got the help he deserved. That’s what commander of the 330 squadron in Bodø, Kent-Gøran Vikan, says. He meets news at the helicopter base the day after he had to move out to find the missing motor sailor “Kobben”. – Then you reflect that there are many coincidences that lead to him being found, adds the helicopter pilot. – It was certainly lively on board, he adds. Kent Gøran Vikan is the commander of the 330 squadron in Bodø and moved out when the main rescue center received a message that the missing man was outside Andøya. Photo: Marius Guttormsen / news Previous searches, in an area as large as mainland Norway, were made without findings. And the search operation was put on hold several days in advance until new information came to light. – It was searched in such large areas, but we had not made any discoveries and saw it as unlikely that we would make discoveries in that area. We then chose to wait further until we received more information. That’s what rescue manager Tommy Edvardsen says at the Northern Norway Central Rescue Service (HRS). Rescue leader Tommy Edvardsen says that an area as large as the whole of Norway was searched when HRS decided to pause the search for the motor sailor. Five days later, the sign of life came from the missing man. Photo: Marius Guttormsen / news – There was very poor mobile coverage in the area, so the call had been interrupted. We tried to get in touch, but couldn’t get through either by phone or VHF. We then chose to use the rescue helicopter from Bodø. New system in the helicopter was decisive But it still remained to find Fjukstad in the autumn darkness, an estimated 40 nautical miles from land. Again, the mobile phone became the key for the rescuers. Previous rescue helicopters of the Sea King type could search for missing persons through radar, night goggles and infrared heat-seeking cameras. – But it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack. A heat-seeking camera is a very good tool, but then you have to be closer and know which way to look, says Vikan. Vikan shows the area where the rescue helicopter flew to, and where they finally found the missing motor sailor Kobben. Photo: Marius Guttormsen / news But when the new Sar Queen rescue helicopters were put into use by the Norwegian Armed Forces and the 330 squadron, they had another aid. – We a system where we become a flying mobile mast, explains Vikan in the 330 squadron. The system, called MPDLS, makes it possible in practice for rescue teams to find the location of a mobile phone, even if it has no coverage. Mobile Phone Detection and Location system (MPDLS) This is called the equipment that is in the new rescue helicopters, Sar Queen. If a person is missing, the main rescue center will contact Telenor/Telia/Ice to obtain the IMEI/IMSI number of the missing person’s phone. This number is entered into the rescue helicopter service’s systems, so that the sensor immediately starts searching for the phone. The range is approx. 35 km, but it depends on “line of sight”. This means that if the phone is behind a large mountain, it will not be tracked until the helicopter is nearby. This is solved, among other things, by flying high, so that the “shadows” of the terrain are as small as possible. As soon as the helicopter makes contact with the phone, the crews will get a position. In addition, they can both send SMS and make phone calls. This can be done even if the phone has no coverage. Source: The rescue helicopter service in the Norwegian Air Force When the rescue helicopter approaches, a triangle appears on the map of the system operator on board. It bounces back and forth before finally determining the location of the phone. – We were some distance away when we got in touch with him on the phone. Then we could fly in the right direction, says Vikan and adds: – It is uncertain whether we would have found him without that system. In the old days, with the Sea King, we had to use other systems. This is what it looks like when the helicopter tries to find the exact position of a mobile phone: Was towed to land by the lifeboat Vikan believes it was not a given that the voyage ended as well as it did. – No, far from it. He was lucky that it was a quick trip to the coverage of a mobile mast so that we could know approximately where he was – If the weather, wind and drift had not decided where he would have ended up in the end. At one point he had probably run out of food and drink, with the outcome that could have produced, Vikan continues. After talking to Fjukstad via mobile phone, he said that he was in good shape and only needed help to be towed to shore. And after a few hours the lifeboat Dagfinn Paust arrived, who towed the boat ashore at Myre in Øksnes municipality in Vesterålen. The rescue pilot’s best travel tip: Bring your mobile phone He encourages everyone going on a trip, whether on land or at sea, to bring their mobile phone and extra power sources. And last but not least: Do not switch off the phone. – Don’t think that since you are out of coverage that you have to switch off the phone. If you switch off the phone, we won’t find you. On 1 September 2020, the first rescue helicopter of the type AW101 SAR Queen was put into service at Sola. Now there are six such located in the country, from Banak in the north to Sola in the south. Photo: Marius Guttormsen / news In addition, it helps to wear clothes that show well, and light sources also help when the rescue helicopter searches with a camera. – And as we have seen, carrying a mobile phone with enough power – and having it switched on even if you don’t have coverage – will greatly help to find you if the accident happens. Published 28.09.2024, at 17.21 Updated 28.09.2024, at 19.29
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Here the missing man is found by a rescue helicopter – news Nordland
