Irish man dies in kayaking accident in Norway

Updated


Irish man dies in kayaking accident in Norway
Irish man dies in kayaking accident in Norway

Stock photo, River Sjoa, Norway: Alamy


An Irish man has died following a kayaking accident during an adventure holiday in Norway.

Colm Johnson, 24, from County Cork, was kayaking with four friends on the river Sjoa when he became trapped under water and was swept downstream after paddling over an eight metre drop.

He was the first of the group to go over the descent and, when he didn't surface, his friends threw ropes in to the water to try and rescue him, to no avail, according to the BBC.

A rescue helicopter helped Norwegian officials recover the body, but authorities said high water levels and difficult working conditions resulted in a delay in the procedure.

Just last month, another British kayaker, also on an adventure holiday, went missing in a river in Norway.

Jason Raper, 19, from Scarborough, got into trouble on the River Raundalen. He had been on a five-week adventure holiday in Europe, for which he'd set off from England on 14 June, and was believed to be in Norway for an extreme sports festival in Voss.

Norwegian police spokesman Ivar Hellene said initial rescue searches had been called off until water levels in the river had fallen.

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