Rescuers in Norway search for missing US journalist Alec Luhn
Rescue crews are using dogs and drones to conduct the search, the New York Times reported, citing Ingeborg Thorsland, a spokeswoman for the Norwegian Red Cross.His wife said that he is an experienced outdoorsman who has previously camped in poor weather conditions."Alec is basically obsessed with the Arctic," Ms Silchenko told CBS News, the BBC's US partner. "He loves glaciers and snow, and he loves explorers," she said, adding that as a climate journalist, he is attempting to visit glaciers that are rapidly shrinking due to climate change."He's trying his best to go to the coldest countries," she said.Mr Luhn, 38, is currently based in London, but has recently lived in Moscow and Istanbul, according to CNN.He has previously reported for numerous outlets, including The Atlantic, National Geographic, The New York Times, Scientific American, TIME, and CBS.Last year, he wrote for the BBC about Canada's "zombie" fires, which burn year round and are believed to be growing more common.Why Canada is riddled with wildfires that burn year-roundWhy East Antarctica is a 'sleeping giant' of sea level rise
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
16 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Two cruise ship tourists are killed as gale-force winds hit Greek seas, forcing ferries to stay in port and disrupting travel for tens of thousands of holidaymakers
Two Vietnamese tourists died at sea in Greece on Friday, the coastguard said, as gale-force winds confined many ferries to port, disrupting travel for tens of thousands of summer travellers. The incident, involving a man and a woman, happened at Sarakiniko beach on the tourist island of Milos in the Cyclades, a coastguard spokeswoman told AFP. 'The man and woman were found unconscious in the sea and were taken to the local health centre,' she said. 'They were Vietnamese tourists on a cruise ship group. The woman fell in the water and the man apparently tried to save her,' she said. The civil protection ministry said wind gusts would reach 88 kilometres (54 miles) an hour, especially in the southern Aegean and the Sea of Crete. National weather service EMY said the phenomenon would weaken after midnight. The coastguard said most ferries were unable to depart on schedule from Piraeus and other Athens ports, especially to the Cyclades or Dodecanese islands. Several planned ferries were cancelled while others were postponed. Maritime connections with the Saronic islands near Athens, including Aegina, Hydra, Poros, and Spetses and the Ionian Sea are unaffected, it said. The Athens National Observatory, in a statement, also warned there was a 'very high potential for wind-driven forest fires', particularly in the east and south of the country. The mayor of Athens on Thursday shut down the National Garden after a tree fell in one of the capital's busiest high streets, narrowly missing shoppers. Strong winds are common in Greece at this time of year.
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Uttarkashi villagers spared as festival draws them away from deadly Himalayan flash flood
Five people died and dozens went missing after a devastating flash flood tore through homes and hotels at a Himalayan village in northern India this week, but residents said the toll could have been far higher if not for a religious festival drawing many to higher ground. Nearly 200 people were rescued from Dharali, a remote mountainous village in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand state, after a cloudburst on Tuesday triggered mudslides and flash flooding in the Kheer Ganga river. Rescue teams from the Indian army and the National Disaster Response Force continued looking for the missing people for the third day on Thursday despite poor weather and patchy communication. Witnesses said a large number of villagers were spared because they had crossed a narrow bridge earlier that day to mark Hardoodh, a local festival held in honour of the river deity Naag Devta. The festivities were held on higher ground, away from where unregulated construction had clustered dangerously close to the flood-prone river. 'Had people been inside their homes, the loss could have been far greater,' Sanjay Singh Pawar, a resident, told The Times of India. Another villager, Kavita Kumari, described it as the 'grace of the divine' that most people were outside, gathered in a safer place. This side of the stream, where the festivities took place, is notably less developed and sits on elevated land. While the other side, which got washed away, had dense construction, with homes, guesthouses, and shops built close to the unstable riverbed. One of the structures hit was a 40-room hotel run by Jai Bhagwan, who had gone to the temple for the festival when disaster struck. 'First, there was a thunderous sound, and then I heard people screaming from the village nearby. They were whistling too, but we were clueless. Then came massive waves of mud, water, and rocks,' he told The Indian Express. His four-storey hotel was washed away in the mudslide, a video of which he saw later. 'In the video, my hotel is seen being washed away. It was a 40-room hotel, but it flowed away like a leaf,' he said. Rescue teams had so far saved 190 people, including 11 army soldiers, local officials said. More than 50 remained missing and aerial surveillance was hampered by continuing rain. Dog squads, veterinary staff, and satellite phones had been deployed to aid in the search and maintain communication in the affected zone, according to the National Disaster Response Force. The terrain of Dharali, located at 8,600ft in the fragile Harshil valley, is vulnerable to extreme weather. Environmentalists have for years warned about unchecked development in Uttarkashi and other Himalayan regions where concrete buildings and roads are frequently built near steep slopes and riverbeds without proper drainage or environmental clearances.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Moment missing British-based journalist is found alive in Norwegian mountains as rescuers reveal how he survived alone in the wilderness for five days
Lying stricken on a Norwegian mountainside, this is the moment a British-based American climate change reporter was rescued after almost week alone in the wilderness. Alec Luhn, 38, heard the helicopter flying around above him for several days but could not move because he has shattered his femur in a fall from a cliff in the Folgefonna National Park - home to three of gigantic glaciers. The Daily Mail understands that he managed to survive by drinking rainwater as it fell and two chocolate bars he had in his bag. 'He had nothing to drink before the rain came', one medical source said. Mr Luhn, who works the New York Times and the Guardian, was spotted because of his bright red coat. 'He had waved to them', police have said. His wife Viktoria Silchenko, an award-winning filmmaker, is flying to Norway today to see him in hospital. She said: 'I think it's a miracle. I'm so grateful to all the people who were involved in the rescue. It's the best day of my life'. His brother Brian, who lives in the United States, said: 'My brother Alec has been found by the rescue team. He's being flown to the hospital to be treated for a broken femur'. Alec was reported missing on Monday after failing to get on a flight back to the UK from Bergen, a city around 40 miles northwest of Folgefonna National Park, where Luhn was trekking. The national park is 136,000 acre and is home to one of the country's biggest glaciers. He was last heard from last Thursday afternoon, with his wife, telling the New York Times that he had texted her his itinerary. But following a massive search of the Nordic park, he was found with a serious leg injury, which he suffered the first day he set out, according to local rescuers. Geir Arne Sunde, the head of the local air ambulance service and trauma centre, said: 'He is seriously injured, but not critically injured.' The reporter somehow managed to survive his days-long ordeal with very little food. Luhn's rescue was something of a miracle, rescuers said. Stig Hope, head of the operations leadership team at Folgefonna and a Red Cross volunteer, said: 'I can't remember us finding someone alive after so many days. 'The search doesn't always end like this – but today, it did. It's a huge relief for everyone who's been part of the effort.' Local media reported that he was on holiday with his sister in the Nordic nation and decided to go out on a four-day hike on July 31 from an outdoor centre in Ullensvang on the northern edge of the park. A 30-strong volunteer search and rescue team, along with dogs, drones and police were all sent to find him. The operation was temporarily suspended, amid bad weather. Tatjana Knappen, an operations manager from Vestland police, said: 'Weather conditions started to get really bad around midnight. It was not reasonable to continue the search up in the mountains.' Local police said the Pulitzer Center Ocean Reporting Network fellow, a specialist in climate reporting, is an experienced mountain walker who was well-equipped. His wife reportedly said she had not expected to hear from him for a few days, owing to the spotting signal in the park. Silchenko added that it wasn't unusual for her husband to go on solo hikes. But she began worrying about him by Sunday, and alerted local authorities after he failed to make it back to his return flight on Monday. She said before his rescue: 'I just really want him back. I can't sleep or eat properly. It's very hard not to know anything.' Folgefonna National Park is known for being a popular challenge for hikers who fly in from all over the world to conquer the difficult terrain and admire its natural beauty. The climate reporter is no stranger to exotic destinations, having reported from oil fields in Texas, drought-stricken regions of Somalia and a research ship on the North Sea.
