One dead after border guard boat runs aground in Gulf of Finland

The Finnish Border Guard confirms that one of its personnel has died following a grounding incident on the country’s southeastern coast on Saturday, June 20.

The incident occurred when a 10-metre cutter boat launched from the patrol vessel Turva ran aground and sank in a shallow portion of the Gulf of Finland near the island of Lindholmen on the night (local time) of Saturday.

Two of the three sailors on the small boat were able to escape unharmed. Tragically, the third crewmember was pronounced dead on arrival after being airlifted to a hospital in Helsinki.

The country’s Safety Investigation Authority and local police officials have begun working to identify the causes of the grounding and the crewmember’s death.