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Police: Cyclist killed by hunter's bullet in Lapland

The 30-year-old from the capital region succumbed on the spot to injuries caused by a gunshot, police said.

Pyöräilijä  Urho kekkosen kansallispuistossa.
File photo of a cyclist biking through Lapland's Urho Kekkonen National Park. Image: Ismo Pekkarinen / AOP
  • Yle News

Police said on Sunday that they suspect a hunter of accidentally shooting and killing a cyclist travelling through Urho Kekkonen National Park in Lapland.

The Lapland police department said officers received a call shortly before 11am on Saturday, according to which a hunter had struck a cyclist while shooting.

The 30-year-old from the Helsinki region had been biking through an area between Kemihaara and Korvatunturi with four other people when the incident occurred.

They tried to administer first aid but the cyclist reportedly died on the spot. Police said that none of the other members of the group appeared to be in any immediate danger at the time.

"Based on the information currently available there is no reason to suspect it was intentional," lead investigator Marko Ijäs said in a statement.

The hunter in question is currently suspected of aggravated involuntary manslaughter, however the offence may change during the course of a preliminary investigation.

Police said that they will try to establish the sequence of events during their investigation and that they had not yet interviewed eyewitnesses or other persons involved.