Two killed in Sweden as major storm sweeps Nordic countries

Two people have died in Sweden after a powerful winter storm ravaged the Nordic countries, causing travel disruption and power outages.

The Swedish Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology has warned that there will be strong winds across much of the northern half of the country as Storm Johannes hits.

A man in his 50s died after crashing into a tree at the Kungsberget ski resort in the south of the country, local media and police reported; Regional utility company Hemab said one of its employees had died in an accident “in the field”.

Tens of thousands of homes were left without electricity in Sweden, Norway and Finland.

More than 40,000 homes in Sweden were affected by power outages and many railway services were cancelled, Swedish news agency TT reported.

Many flights, rail and ferry services in some parts of the Scandinavian countries have been cancelled.

Highways and railway services were also disrupted due to the storm.

In the Nordland region, one of Norway’s northernmost counties, fire departments responded to more than 200 weather-related incidents, broadcaster NRK reported.

Storm Johannes knocked out power to about 23,000 homes in Nordland, and 9,000 homes were left without power in the Hinterland, NRK said.

In Finland, the storm known as Hannes passed on Sunday morning but left more than 33,000 homes without power, according to public broadcaster Yle.

Flights at Kittila airport in northern Finland were canceled after high winds pushed a passenger jet and a smaller plane off the runway and into a snowbank, the Helsinki Times reported.

The newspaper said that the Swiss Air jet, carrying about 150 passengers, had just landed from Geneva and changed direction while taxiing. It was stated that the smaller jet, a 400XT model, was also on the ground at the same time and deviated from the route due to wind.

No injuries were reported.

The Swedish Transport Administration announced that many train services were stopped until noon on Sunday.