– On Monday afternoon, a technical fault was discovered on some of the rescue helicopters. That is why we decided to control the entire fleet, says Eivind Byre, communications officer in the Air Force to news. It is unknown how long the technical inspection will take. According to the Air Force, they hope to check all 14 helicopters during the evening. – When the rescue helicopters are temporarily banned from use, it is clear that it is something we take seriously. Security is important, and we hope to resolve this as quickly as possible. The newspaper Fremover mentioned it first. Storms in store A lot of weather is expected in northern Norway over the next few days. Troms and Finnmark will experience strong gales from the south-west in exposed places, periodic small storms on the coast, and transient full storms. – There is no doubt that emergency preparedness is affected, says rescue manager Tor Torkildsen in the Central Rescue Center in Northern Norway. Photo: Meteorological Institute – But in the north we have two helicopters that are in Svalbard, and under the daily control of the Governor. They use the rescue service if necessary. For example during SAR missions out at sea, for example the fisheries, says Torkildsen. They are now working to coordinate with the air ambulance helicopters for any missions on land. The Air Force also recognizes that they are vulnerable right now. – Right now we have the helicopters at Rygge. Sea King is on standby as normal. Then it is the main rescue center that maintains the preparedness. They have several actors to play on. But it is important for us to return with our preparedness as quickly as possible, says Byre.
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New rescue helicopters on the ground – news Troms and Finnmark
