The coast guard received a report of a capsized canoe off the military garrison island of Santahamina on Friday morning. When they arrived there from the nearby island of Suomenlinna, they found the bodies of two canoeists next to their canoes.
Coast guards suspect the pair had been out canoeing yesterday and had been at sea overnight when strong winds were gusting in the waters off the capital.
“When you go canoeing in the open sea, there are always risk factors,” said Jukka Ojanen of the coast guard. “Especially on days like yesterday, when there were unusually strong north-easterly winds.”
The rescue operation included border guards’ boat and helicopter, a boat from the Finnish Lifeboat institution and a border guard observation plane.