"They would try to swim ashore together"

The alarm about the accident came at half past three on Saturday afternoon.

The man and woman, a couple in their 30s, were out paddling offshore in a canoe of model Canadians as they edged in the harsh winds of water between Ulvön and the mainland.

- It was bad weather on Saturday afternoon, the waves were almost two meters high when we went out, says Ulf Holmberg at the Sea Rescue Society in Örnsköldsvik.

When he and two colleagues arrived at the accident scene in the rescue boat Rescue Örnsköldsvik, the man who had been in the water for about an hour had been found and flown to Örnsköldsvik's hospital by helicopter.

Naval rescue personnel focused on taking care of the woman who managed to get ashore on the northern part of Ulvön and where an alarm sounded if it happened.

- She was shocked, of course, and chilled. But physically unharmed, Ulf Holmberg says.

The woman told me that she and her boyfriend had decided that they would try to swim ashore after the canoe capsized.

- But they were quite far from land and there was severe weather. So they lost touch. And if you get some cold soups, it can be problematic to swim under those conditions, ”says Ulf Holmberg.

When the woman finally managed to get ashore, she turned around to see how her boyfriend was doing.

- Then it was empty behind her.

Late in the afternoon, the hospital announced that the man's life had not been saved.