A powerful winter storm has claimed a third life in Sweden after sweeping across several Nordic countries, triggering widespread power outages and major transport disruptions.
Sweden’s meteorological agency issued strong wind warnings for much of the northern half of the country as Storm Johannes moved through. Authorities confirmed that a man in his 50s died after being struck by a falling tree at the Kungsberget ski resort in southern Sweden. In another incident further north, regional power company Hemab reported that one of its employees was killed in a work-related accident during the storm.
Police also said a man in his 60s, who had been injured by a falling tree while working in a forested area in Hofors, east-central Sweden, later died in hospital, bringing the death toll in the country to three.
The storm caused extensive damage to infrastructure across the region. In Sweden alone, more than 40,000 households were left without electricity, while numerous train services were cancelled. Air, rail and ferry connections across parts of Scandinavia were also disrupted as severe weather conditions made travel unsafe.
Norway was similarly affected, particularly in the Nordland region, where emergency services responded to more than 200 weather-related incidents. Power cuts left around 23,000 homes without electricity in Nordland, with an additional 9,000 affected in the Inland region.
In Finland, where the storm is known as Hannes, conditions eased by Sunday morning, but not before causing outages to more than 60,000 homes. At Kittilä Airport in northern Finland, heavy winds forced a passenger aircraft and a smaller jet off the runway and into snowbanks. The incidents occurred while the planes were on the ground, and no injuries were reported.
Authorities across the Nordic region continue to assess the damage as power restoration and cleanup efforts remain ongoing.
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