A Norwegian Air Force officer in his late twenties died on Thursday evening in a vehicle accident during a military exercise in Stjørdal, in Trøndelag county. The Armed Forces said the vehicle involved was a military Land Cruiser configured as an ambulance. Police were alerted at 21:53 and emergency services reached the scene at 22:09, according to Aftenposten.
Why it matters
The death of a serving officer during a routine exercise raises questions about vehicle safety procedures on military training grounds. The exercise in the area has been halted, and the Armed Forces say personnel who were present are being looked after. The Norwegian Accident Investigation Board has been notified, and the deceased will undergo a post-mortem examination.
What police say happened
The officer was moving a vehicle when he became trapped and was apparently run over by the same vehicle, police incident commander Karl Småland told Aftenposten. Småland said the circumstances remain unclear and that only one person was involved in the incident.
Life-saving first aid was started at the scene, but the man's life could not be saved.
Investigators from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration's accident team and police forensic technicians worked at the site through the night. Operations leader Svein Erik Wagnild said Friday morning that all examinations at the scene had been completed.
Police have interviewed witnesses, though Wagnild said none of them saw exactly what happened. He noted that many people arrived very quickly because an exercise was under way in the area.
By Friday morning, no one had been formally charged in the case, according to police prosecutor Jannicke Evjen Olsen. She told Aftenposten that the information gathered so far suggests the officer may have started the vehicle himself from outside and set it in motion.
Grief at the Air Force school centre
The Armed Forces said the exercise was stopped and the personnel involved were sent back to camp. Petter Bjørgo, head of the Air Force School Centre, said in a press statement that the organisation had lost a colleague and was in mourning. He said leadership was present with the unit and that colleagues were receiving conversations and support.
Wagnild said the Armed Forces are following up with the crews who were at the scene when the accident occurred.
The investigation continues, with the post-mortem examination and the Accident Investigation Board's involvement likely to shape the next phase of the case.
