Residents of the small community of Oltedal in western Norway were gathering to mourn the tragic deaths of a young local couple over the weekend. They apparently were asphyxiated in a bus while attending a rock music festival.
The weekend trip to a rock music festival turned fatal for a group from the small community of Oltedal.
Police investigators launched a thorough probe of the double-deck bus where 10 persons were found unconscious on Saturday. Two died. PHOTO: ANDERS MARTINSEN
Terje Brueland, age 32 and Anita Wathne, age 31, had traveled to Kvinesdal on Norway's southwest coast to attend the Norwegian Rock Festival. They were staying with a group of friends from Oltedal on board the bus, which had been converted into a mobile home of sorts.
At around 2pm Saturday afternoon, some others came to check on those staying on the bus and found a tragic scene. Brueland and Wathne were dead, and eight others unconscious.
Police suspect all 10 were poisoned by carbon monoxide gas emitted from a generator that supplied electricity to the bus.
"We can't be certain until we have an autopsy report," said Cathrine Andresen of Stavanger University Hospital, where several of the victims were taken. Andresen told Aftenposten that survivors were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning and were responding.
Five of the victims were treated at the hospital in Stavanger, while two others were sent to Ullevål University Hospital in Oslo. Three were reported as being in serious but stable condition. Two were released from hospital on Sunday.
The generator reportedly was placed in a locked compartment on the bus. Without ventilation, odorless fumes from the generator could seep into the bus with no one noticing, reported Kristiansand newspaper Fædrelandsvennen.
The dead couple from Oltedal in Gjesdal township, Rogaland County, left three children. Relatives and friends were taking care of them. "They have a large family around them, aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins," one local resident told Aftenposten.
Vest-Agder, Norway, county containing Kvinesdal.
Motörhead in 2005. The band paid tribute to the victims before their performance at Norway Rock Festival.
Further details have emerged on the deaths of two people at the annual Norway Rock Festival in Kvinesdal. Eight other people were rescued unconscious from a bus at the site. Meanwhile, it has been reported that British heavy metal band Motörhead opened their performance at the festival with a minute's silence for the deceased.

The names of those killed have now been released. They are Terje Brueland, 32, and Anita Wathne, 31. As reported earlier, they were an unmarried couple and left behind three children. It is believed that the accident occurred due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

The police investigation has uncovered that the double-decker bus had been converted into a motorhome. Electricity was supplied by way of a generator, which was placed inside a locked compartment on the vehicle. Police believe that fumes from the generator leaked inside without anyone noticing, as carbon monoxide is odourless and colourless.

The problem was discovered at 2 p.m. Saturday by friends who had gone to the bus to check up on those inside. Five of the eight survivors were taken to hospital in Stavanger and two to Oslo's Ullevål University Hospital. Three remain in serious but stable condition, while two have been released.

The two killed in the bus came from Oltedal in Rogaland County, where they are reported to have a large family who are looking after their children along with friends.

The festival lasted three days and drew crowds of 5-6,000 people.