It was last Sunday at 17.30 that the alarm came that a car had ended up in the water and that no one was visible at the surface. It must have taken at least fifty minutes before the people in the car were picked up by divers.
According to the Swedish Coast Guard, there is an agreement with Greater Stockholm’s fire service and Norrtälje that the corps must be alerted if an accident occurs. When it comes to the accident in Furusund, with the benefit of hindsight, it would not have mattered because the Swedish Navy has no divers – but they are still critical that the alarm did not reach them.
– We should have gotten it. If someone had been lying in the water, we would certainly have been able to pick them up, says Anders Lundqvist, training officer of the Swedish Navy Roslagen.
But the rescue service in Norrtälje believes that the right resources have been called in.
– We have an agreement with the Swedish Navy in Roslagen regarding transport of our personnel and material, says Anders Ahlström, rescue manager in Norrtälje municipality.
Therefore, it took 43 minutes for divers to reach the site
The Norwegian Maritime Administration is responsible for sea rescues on state waters and according to them, several units were quickly on the scene.
Ten minutes after the alarm, the ambulance helicopter arrived at the scene of the accident. Four minutes later, the Swedish Maritime Administration’s rescue helicopter was on site with surface rescuers.
But no people were visible at the surface, then the rescue helicopter and the ambulance helicopter turn towards Stockholm and meet the rescue divers at Brottby who are flown to the accident site.
Forty-three minutes after the alarm, the divers land in Furusund. Twelve minutes later, the car is searched and the people in the car taken care of.
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Hear Niclas Härenstam, Norwegian Maritime Administration, explain why it took 43 minutes before the divers arrived at the accident site. “The divers were on site unusually quickly,” he says. Photo: SVT
The entire sea rescue effort consisted of two boats from the Sea Rescue Society, two ambulance helicopters, the Swedish Maritime Administration’s rescue helicopter, a pilot boat and the rescue service.