Armed police moved to gas plant after possible drone observation – NRK Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
At 21:30 on Thursday evening, the police received a message from the Norwegian Armed Forces, which is stationed at Equinor’s Kårstø facility in Tysvær, about the possible observation of a drone.
The police know that this is a gas plant that may be of particular interest, and take the incident seriously.
– Considering the security situation in Europe now and the fact that this is a gas plant that has a central role in Europe’s energy supply, it is natural that we take such observations seriously, says operations manager Sørvest police district Victor Fenne-Jensen to NRK.
It was Stavanger Aftenblad who reported the matter first.
Large police forces
Large police forces moved out to both sides of Boknafjorden on Friday night.
– It is a relatively large area and a drone has a certain radius of action, says Fenne-Jensen.
The police checked, among other things, vehicles in the area.
– Our main goal during the hours the actions are in progress is to have drones, drone pilots, people and any vehicles verified and identified, he says.
At around 0130 on the night of Friday, the police ended their operational efforts at Boknafjorden.
– We have worked for a couple of hours, and have now finished the operational effort. This is now continuing in the investigation and intelligence track, says the police’s task leader at the scene, Fritz Arne Lilleskog.
He adds that the case will be reported.
No drone has been seized, and no one has been arrested in the case.
Several hypotheses
The incident will enter into the centralized investigation that Sørvest police district has on drone observations in its own and other districts.
The police have several hypotheses in their work to identify who may be behind it.
– At one end of the scale it could be foreign powers, at the other end it could be a hobby drone pilot. In between, there can be various actors, says operations manager for the South West police district Victor Fenne-Jensen.
Armed police
The police forces that were sent out on the night of Friday were armed.
– When we don’t know who, whether it is one or more people or what the environment and intention are, we have to take all hypotheses into account. As a preventive measure, the police are armed in this effort, says Fenne-Jensen.