Two Britons die in Norway mountains
Monday, 12 Mar 2007 14:54
Two British men have been found dead following a blizzard during a cross-country skiing trip in the Hardangervidda mountains in Norway.
A third man was found alive, suffering from hypothermia and shock, and has been taken to hospital in Bergen to receive medical treatment.
The men, who are thought to be from Scotland, were discovered by chance by a passing group of Red Cross trainees.
It is believed the group were on their way to a mountain cottage when they were hit by severe weather conditions.
"They were heading for a hut, a cottage, and they got lost. It was very foggy weather, it was snowy and windy," Oddvar Nordfonn from Bergen police force told the BBC.
"To survive up in the Norwegian high mountain plateau in those circumstances and conditions is next to impossible," Sigmund Vestrheim also of Bergen's police force, explained to Sky News.
The Hardangervidda mountain range is part of a national park, and is home to arctic foxes, snowy owls and large numbers of wild reindeer.