All emergency services, lifeboat and rescue helicopter moved out after notification of a passenger boat on the ground west of Aasvik pier outside Jomfruland in Kragerø.
The accident happened just before 6 pm on Thursday.
The passenger boat “Perlen” belongs to Kragerø fjord boat company and runs scheduled services for tourists in the Kragerø archipelago.
The boat has suffered major damage to the bow and does not come off the spot.
Suspects faults in the boat
There were no passengers on board the boat when the accident happened. Only two employees were on board. None of them are injured.
The general manager of Kragerø fjord boat company, Borgar Slørdal, says that the employees who were on board are in good spirits.
He does not know for sure what is the cause of the accident.
– There is some technical reason, but we still do not know exactly what it is. We need to take a closer look at that.
The crew is said to have explained that they first discovered that something was wrong because the boat’s autopilot did not react.
– Then they were close to ground and were quick to save themselves in speed, and then hold on when they hit the reef.
Interrogated
The police boat has driven the two employees to the mainland. They are being questioned by police tonight.
– There is no suspicion of intoxication, says operations manager Erik Gunnerød in the South-East police district.
INJURIES: The “pearl” has been damaged in the bow and is stuck on a reef.
Photo: Private
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– They believe that there has been something wrong with the steering that has caused the boat to end up on the reef, Gunnerød says.
Attempts will be made to pull the boat off the reef. The police do not yet know when and in what way this will happen.
– There is reason to assume that it will be pulled by the reef, as long as it can be done in a safe and gentle way, without the boat sinking.
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