Police in Møre og Romsdal have confirmed that a body recovered from the sea in Vestvågøy municipality in Nordland is one of three men who have been missing since a fishing boat went down near the island group of Grip on Nordmøre.
The identification was announced by Espen Andrésen, operations leader in the Møre og Romsdal police district, according to NRK. He said the deceased person is one of the three who had remained unaccounted for after the accident.
Nordland police alerted their colleagues in Møre og Romsdal after the body was found in the water in Vestvågøy. Andrésen said the relatives were informed once a positive identification had been made.
Why it matters
The confirmation ends months of uncertainty for one family, but two of the men are still missing. The case also highlights how far debris and people can travel in the sea: in a straight line, Vestvågøy lies more than 600 kilometres from Grip, a distance NRK notes in its reporting.
The accident has already prompted the Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority (Statens havarikommisjon) to propose regulatory changes, including requiring tracking equipment on board boats so that authorities can respond quickly when something goes wrong.
What happened near Grip
The boat was later found floating with its keel up outside the Grip archipelago on Nordmøre. At the same time, one of the fishing tourists on board was found dead in the sea.
A series of searches followed for the three others, but they produced no results. About two weeks after the accident, police decided to call off the search for the men, who were presumed dead.
Andrésen told NRK that the family now has an answer. "It is very good that the relatives can get an answer. And then there are still two who have not been found. So we must hope that they are found in time," he said.
No new search planned
The operations leader said it is not currently relevant to restart the search for the two remaining missing men. The areas that could be relevant are too large, he explained, and police will take no further action in the case unless new information emerges.
The discovery in Vestvågøy is the second time a person from the boat has been recovered. The first was found in the sea near Grip at the time the overturned vessel was located.
Police have not released further details about the person identified, beyond confirming the link to the Grip accident.
What happens next depends on whether the two remaining men are found; police say they will only act again if new information comes in.
