One night in late August two years ago, police walked past a group of bewildered youths at St. Hanshaugen in Oslo.
While the patrol was talking to them, several young men came out of a bunker in the area and asked the police to call an ambulance.
They moved in with great force and immediately started carrying the unconscious youths out of the bunker. Several of them seriously injured.
The illegal party was initially called “Rave Cave” on social media.
A senior doctor at Oslo University Hospital later said the party could have been Norway’s worst accident in peacetime.
Here the revelers have entered.
Inside the mountain hall there was loud music and a light show. Power came from diesel generators.
The Kullos of the aggregates poisoned the partygoers.
A total of 28 people were poisoned and ended up in hospital.
Two of the partygoers were assessed as severely poisoned. Several got proven brain damage.
The trial of two twenty-year-olds who organized the party begins on Tuesday morning.
Breaking in
The only entrance and exit to the party was about one by one meter.
According to witnesses and partygoers, as many as 200 people may have visited the bunker during the night.
The unit that operated the sound and lighting system was located in a room at the back of the bunker, which had been stuffed again with trash bags and duct tape.
The organizers believed there had been a ventilation system in the bunker.
Men yes NRK reporter visited the cave, there was only a small hole high above the door to the room where the units were, which could let in air.
This room was breached and it was from here that the deadly gas was released.
One of the partygoers later told NRK that when she entered the room with the units, she immediately felt dizzy. On the floor lay three unconscious boys.
– It made a strong impression dragging the lifeless guys up the hill when you yourself are about to faint, she said when she herself was in the hospital after the party.
Firefighters later said a lethal dose of carbon monoxide had been measured several times in the worst spots in the bunker.
He pleads not guilty
The two men are accused of several things:
- For violating the provision to act in a manner to prevent fire, explosion or other accidents.
- For negligently injuring the body and health of another.
- For breaking into an illegal place.
– My client pleads not guilty to poisoning, one of the defendants’ lawyers, Ida Andenæs, tells NRK before the trial.
He says the client is looking forward to the process.
Lawyer Marit Lomundahl Sæther defends the other defendant. She also denies criminal culpability.
State Attorney Daniel Sollie is leading the case for the prosecution.
Daniel Sollie says the party could potentially have been even more dangerous.
Photo: Gøril Furu / NRK
He thinks the matter is serious.
– They are accused of endangering the life and health of over one hundred people. In addition to the fact that two people suffered significant damage to their bodies and health, he says.
It basically was five people reported. Three of the charges have been dropped.
Sollie believes the two defendants played a central role in the planning and execution of the party in the bunker.
– The decisive factor is the role they played, for example, in managing the aggregate, setting up the party and choosing the venue. It’s a concrete assessment of the actions they’ve taken in relation to the party, says Sollie.
They risk up to six years in prison.
Still struggling with memory
Two months after the cave party, NRK spoke about Magnus (22). He was one of two who were badly poisoned at the bunker party.
He and his mother will both testify on Tuesday, December 6. So must the other person who was seriously injured.
Magnus, now 24, still struggles with his memory. When he was dragged unconscious out of the cave, he injured his back. This has gotten worse.
– I always forget things. When I leave to go to the store, I forget what I’m about to buy, and why I went out in the first place, she says.
Memory loss affects everyday life with school and work.
– I was lucky in an accident. I could be completely out of it for the rest of my life. But I’m afraid. Afraid of getting worse, she says.
The 28 who were hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning were being followed up by researchers at Oslo University Hospital.
– Seemed like a safe place
There was still a corona pandemic when the party was held and Oslo nightlife closed at midnight.
Prior to the party, partygoers were told on Facebook to arrive between 11pm and 0:30am to “limit the chance of the Oslo party brake department showing up”.
NRK has already spoken to one of those who helped organize the party.
He told NRK that he didn’t regret the event itself, but they could have done some things differently.
– We could have had someone watch the door. And we could have had a better place. I’ve seen the floor plans now in retrospect, the cave itself looked like a safe place.
Many witnesses
More than two weeks were set aside for the trial. The court will inspect the cave on Tuesday.
A party-goer who had himself been poisoned with charcoal thought many of the unconscious people were dead. Now the person recounts the dramatic minutes of Sunday night.
The following day the two defendants will give their testimony.
Magnus hopes the trial will make the defendants take more responsibility for what happened than he believes they have done so far. Also, he hopes to receive compensation.
– But six years in prison is too much. The guys were just trying to create some light in a rather dark time, she says.
– Did you have a responsibility yourself?
– There were corona restrictions, so it was stupid to go there. But I was a kid and I couldn’t see the consequences then, she says.
