Jørstad River bridge sabotage

The Jørstad River bridge sabotage was an operation carried out on January 13 1945 by members of the Norwegian resistance movement during World War II. The operation had code-name "Woodlark". The aim was to blow up a railway bridge in order to disrupt the railway Nordlandsbanen in Snåsa in Nord-Trøndelag, Norway. Six hours after the bridge had been destroyed, a military trooper train unaware of the sabotage derailed and crashed into the river below, killing 70-80 people (among them two Norwegians) and injuring some 100 more. It remains the single most deadly rail incident ever in Norway. [ [http://www2.dmmh.no/~ses/www-rwy/safety/ulykker/Ulykkesliste.html List of rail accidents and disasters in Norway] no icon]

In the aftermath of the disaster, there were fights between American and German soldiers in the Snåsa mountains, the only fights in Norway between these two countries during the occupation. A war memorial of the sabotage was raised in 1995 at the site. [ [http://www.geoweb.no/veibok/docs/ruter/route081.pdf NAF road handbook] Trondheim-Mosjøen-Kirkenes. Jørstad river sabotage and memorial mentioned on pages 429-430 no icon] Four out of the five saboteurs who had participated in the sabotage were present at the dedication of the memorial. [ [http://www2.dmmh.no/~ses/www-rwy/safety/ulykker/hommelvik/hommelvik_mb.html Hommelvikulykken m.m.] (Hommelvik accident and others), Svein Sando no icon]

References

* [http://www.sfm.no/Arkiv-2006/Tilbakeblikk/21.04.2006-Quisling-Gerhardsen-4.htm Samfunnsmagasinet] Fra Vidkun Quisling til Einar Gerhardsen, published April 21, 2006. Incident is mentioned in the section "Fra Quisling til Gerhardsen". no icon