Monday, it was 50 years since 21 miners were killed in an explosion in the Kings Bay coal mine on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard on November 5th 1962.
King Harald will be present at a memorial ceremony in the mining town of Ny-Ålesund on Monday, together with next of kin of those who perished, and so will the President of the Storting (Parliament) and representatives from the Government, as well as 28 of those who worked in Ny-Ålesund at the time of the accident.
Only ten of the 21 bodies were recovered from the mine, which was closed in 1963.
The mining town has now become an important international center for Polar and climate research, and scientists from 20 nations are based there.
(NRK/Aftenposten)
