Vegard (27) was found dead alone in the forest. This is what they believe happened

It was on 22 November last year that 27-year-old Vegard Eikland Brendstuen was found dead by his workmate.

The accident happened in the forest by Vråliosen, in Kviteseid municipality. Brendstuen was himself from Tokke.

The day after the accident, the Norwegian Labor Inspectorate was on site together with the police to investigate what could have happened.

The Warden has been given access to the inspection report.

They believe there are a number of unfortunate circumstances that led to Brendstuen’s death.

He had a sole proprietorship, and was engaged in shipping timber.

The accident happened between the logging site and the pond place. The deceased is said to have been on his way down from the felling site with six logs.

He had a retrofitted winch on the tractor. This was also retrofitted with remote control.

The Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority believes that there was no technical fault with the tractor or the equipment.

“Hit with great force”

What the inspectors of the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority believe happened is that some of the logs that were transported crossed each other. Brendstuen must then have stopped in the terrain to straighten the logs.

“The deceased was working near the hanging logs, presumably with hearing protection on. Therefore, it would be very difficult to realize that this happened,” the report states.

What they believe happened was that the man mistakenly activated one of the winches with the remote control. The timber may have been pulled in so that the tractor’s engine was choked and stopped. This may also have stopped the supply of hydraulics that keep the brakes on.

This will also have led to the load falling and hitting Brendstuen.

“They hit with such great force that a helmet or other protective equipment probably would not have changed the outcome,” writes the Norwegian Working Environment Authority.

“Often we see a combination of unfortunate circumstances that make the accidents possible.”

Part of the problem was that the remote control the deceased used had buttons that could be easily activated. The Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority believes this may have contributed to the accident.

In connection with the inspection case, the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority has started work to ensure that the same thing does not happen again.

– We assume that the remote control played a role in the accident. Often there are several things happening at the same time that cause such accidents. What we are doing is that we are taking the matter up with the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority’s section for market control, explains section leader in the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority, Runar Hauge.

The Norwegian Occupational Safety and Health Authority hopes that they can contribute to preventing similar accidents from happening in the future.

– Our mandate is to find the direct and underlying reasons why the accident happened, and then use the learning for something constructive to prevent similar incidents from happening again, says Hauge.