A crew member fell from a cargo ship in the Bothnian Bay on Tuesday morning. The accident occurred near Skelleftehamn around 9 AM. Water temperatures were near freezing when the man went overboard.
Rescue services launched a major search operation immediately. They called off the search at 11 AM after finding no sign of the missing person. Officials now presume the crew member did not survive the cold conditions.
Fredrik Strömbäck, a maritime administration spokesperson, explained the situation. "We thoroughly searched the surface area and found no one," he said in a statement. "The matter now becomes a police investigation."
The man came from a non-European country according to police. Divers will search the area on Wednesday. Authorities have filed a workplace safety violation report regarding the incident.
The Bothnian Bay forms the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia between Sweden and Finland. Its waters remain dangerously cold even in spring. This tragic accident highlights the real dangers faced by maritime workers in Nordic waters.