“One person has died,” said Johan Szymanski of the Mora Fire Brigade to local paper Dalarnas Tidningar (DT).

The accident occurred just before 7am on Thursday morning, some five kilometres south of Idre. A minivan with space for nine passengers but carrying eleven, suddenly crossed over into the wrong lane and crashed into a car travelling in the opposite direction, according to the paper.

The minivan ended up overturned in a ditch, severely injuring several of the passengers and killing one.

The dead man hails from Ukraine and was in Sweden to earn his living as a forestry worker. Two of his relatives were also allegedly in the crashed vehicle.

Ambulances from both Norway and Sweden were called to the scene and a Norwegian rescue helicopter was also called in to lend a hand. The rescue operation was completed by 9.30am, according to the paper.

“It was chaotic. Only a few of them spoke English as well, so there were some language confusion as well,” said Jan-Olov Olsson of the emergency services to DT.

Four seriously injured passengers were taken to local hospitals by ambulance and helicopter, and several were also taken to a local clinic to receive minor medical attention.

The road was closed for several hours and traffic had to be redirected to alternative routes.

Those forestry workers that only sustained minor injuries were also offered help from a crisis group set up in a nearby town, with an interpreter proficient in the workers’ language.

“They saw the whole thing. Of course they have been affected by that. That’s why we want to have a chat with them,” said Olsson to DT.

TT/Rebecca Martin