Man in Norway survives 28 hours’ exposure after hillside fall

A man in Norway was found on Christmas Eve, 28 hours after he suffered an 8-10 metre fall while out walking.

Published: 27 December 2017 09:51 CET

Man in Norway survives 28 hours’ exposure after hillside fall

The Tangvall area in springtime. File photo: Tor Erik Schrøder / NTB scanpix

The 24-year-old was reported missing at around 6pm on December 23rd, reports newspaper VG.

“We were contacted by a friend who had [earlier] been with him, who asked if we had heard anything from him. We had not, so we began to think something was wrong,” the man’s sister told VG.

“He had already been gone 12 hours at that point, so we quickly called the police,” she added.

The man was found on the morning of Christmas Eve by a search team from the Søgne and Kristiansand Red Cross Rescue unit, writes VG. He was immediately given first aid.

His family expressed their thanks to the rescue team, which numbered up to 50 volunteers, for its efforts in recovering the man, local media N247 wrote on Christmas Day.

The 24-year-old is reported to have fallen 8-10 metres from a rocky hillside near the village of Tangvall in Søgne municipality. He was injured and suffering from exposure when found by rescuers.

Efforts to find the man were carried out into the night after he was reported missing, according to police in the area.

He was eventually found after the search was renewed the following morning, Christmas Eve.

“We had some definite search areas where he was likely to be, and he was found within these areas,” operation leader Miriam Stausland of Agder Police District told VG.

The man’s sister said that his recovery was “the best Christmas present” the family could have received.

“When we received the phone call we thought it was a miracle that he had been found alive,” she told VG.

The 24-year-old’s body temperature had dropped to just 24 degrees Celsius when he was found, according to N247’s report.

“He was extremely cold and had serious head injuries. He was flown to Oslo [Ullevål Hospital, ed.],” Stausland told VG.

Although he was awake and able to answer questions upon being found, the man’s injuries are severe. He was put into an induced coma at Oslo’s Ullevål Hospital and has undergone operations for head, neck and back injuries.

His sister told VG on Monday that his condition is stable.

“Last night we were informed that his condition is stable, and discussions are ongoing as to when to wake him,” she said.

“He is a tough and robust man. If he was not, I’m afraid he might not have survived,” she added.