Svenskhuset Tragedy

[1] The house was erected by the Swedes on Cape Thordsen in Isfjorden, and was intended to withstand the harsh conditions of the Svalbard winters.

[2] They sought out the Finland-Swedish explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, who at the time was conducting an expedition in the area, for assistance.

Nordenskiöld did not have the resources to accommodate all the hunters, so it was agreed that a number of the men would make their way to Svenskhuset, where they knew there would be food, coal and equipment.

[2] Next summer a Norwegian ship, led by Fritz Mack from Tromsø, left Norway to rescue the stranded men.

[1] It was long believed that the men had died from scurvy; an ailment caused by lack of vitamin C, and common in polar regions.

In 2007, doctor Ulf Aasebø and historian Kjell Kjær applied for permission to open the graves of the victims, to establish cause of death.

[6] At first the application was denied by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage (Riksantikvaren), but after further elaboration on the scientific purpose and method of the study, permission was granted in July 2008.

"[3] The findings largely cleared the men of suspicions of negligence; according to Kjær the scientific expedition helped restore their posthumous reputation.