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Midsummer celebrations in Porvoo. Archive picture: Tony Öhberg for Finland Today
The midsummer celebrations were not free from casualties this year either, when nine people died in the festivities, which started on Thursday. Three of the incidents were related to drowning. The number of casualties clearly exceeded the number from last year when one person died of drowning and four were killed in other accidents.
Thursday
A man was found drowned near the shore in Kuopio, Northern Savonia. According to the police, the man had left his cabin a few minutes before he was found lifeless in the water. Despite the quick resuscitation, the man was killed.
A person was killed when a detached house burned down in Tuusula, Uusimaa region.
A middle-aged man died in a car accident in Lieksa, eastern Finland, after he drove off the road.
A 25-year-old man died in jail after he was taken there because of causing disturbance in Jyväskylä, Central Finland. The man said to the police, that he was under a treatment plan with a hospital but after the police contacted the hospital, the personnel announced that he was not in need of immediate treatment. The reason for the death is currently unknown. The police department of south-western Finland is investigating the incident.
Friday
A 20-year-old man drowned in a hot tub in Nivala, Northern Ostrobothnia on the midsummer eve.
An elderly woman was killed in Jyväskylä. Two people were caught from suspected manslaughter.
A man drowned while driving a water scooter in Oulujärvi, Kainuu region during the midsummer night. The man was driving the scooter with a woman when they fell in the water. The woman stayed afloat but the man ended under the water. The rescue personnel were unable to locate the body.
During the night two passenger cars collided in Savonlinna, southeastern Finland. A 39-year-old man was killed.
In Kuopio, a 20-year-old man died in a police car while he was being taken to jail. The man was found lifeless from the transport section of the police vehicle and was unable to be resuscitated.
In addition, at least 23 bulletins from police departments across the country list people caught from drunken driving with various vehicles, from cars to boats.
There are also at least a dozen incidents related to assaults and batteries.
All in all, the midsummer celebrations were “pretty typical”, according to the police.
STT, The Police
