Towel-clad heroes: Sauna patrons rescue 2 from car that plunged into Norwegian waters

close

Video

Raw video: Massive landslide in Norway

Landslide sweeps Norway homes into sea.

• Patrons aboard a floating sauna in a Norwegian fjord rescued two people whose car had plunged into the water on Thursday.
• The car drove off the quay at Akershusstranda, an area in Oslo where ships dock, after the driver mistakenly accelerated instead of braking.
• As the car went down, the two occupants escaped and were on the roof of the vehicle as the sauna raft headed toward them.

Not all heroes wear capes. Some don't wear anything at all.

With only towels around their waists, patrons aboard a floating sauna in a Norwegian fjord rescued two people whose car had plunged into the water.

The car appeared to have driven off the quay on Thursday at the Akershusstranda, an area where ships dock at the foot of the Norwegian capital Oslo’s picturesque medieval fortress and castle.

NORWAY BRACES FOR MOST POWERFUL STORM SINCE 1990S

A witness told the Norwegian VG newspaper that he saw the car stopped, before it suddenly accelerated and ended up in the water. The paper reported that the driver had thought the vehicle was in park when he hit the accelerator pedal.

A car is retrieved from the water in Oslo, Norway, on Feb. 1, 2024. With only towels around their waists, patrons aboard a floating sauna in a Norwegian fjord rescued two people whose car had plunged into the water on Thursday. (Hakon Mosvold Larsen/NTB Scanpix via AP)

As the car went down, the two occupants escaped and were on the roof of the vehicle as the sauna raft headed toward them.

Nicholay Nordahl, the skipper, told VG that "I gave full throttle toward the people who came climbing out of the car" and reached them just as the car went under.

"With good help from two of the guests, we got them up. They warmed up in the sauna," he said.

STORM INGUNN BRINGS HURRICANE-FORCE WINDS, STRUCTURAL DAMAGE AND POWER OUTAGES TO NORWAY

The wooden sauna rafts that operate on the fjord in Oslo are electrically powered, allowing people to take part in the much-loved Scandinavian pastime in peace while enjoying the natural beauty of the area — and perhaps taking a dip in the icy waters.

The car was later recovered from the water.