Tuesday 21 October 2025Before the Wire, which starts 26 October 2026Updated 23:59
Daylight 10:33 to 14:49, 4 h 16 min. The sun sets for the winter on 26 October.
Svalbard Wire starts on 26 October 2026. Pages before that date show the history of the island.
This week in history, 26 October
2017
On 26 October 2017 a Russian helicopter crashed in Isfjorden on its way in to Kapp Heer, and all eight on board died. The town of Barentsburg was deeply marked by it.
History Store norske leksikon
From the timeline, War and rebuilding
1942
On 12 November 1942 a lifeboat from the British steamer Chulmleigh, wrecked on a reef off Sørkapp, was thrown ashore at Kapp Linné, at the mouth of Isfjorden; nine of its men were found alive there by a Norwegian patrol on 2 January 1943. On 14 November a lifeboat from the Soviet steamer Dekabrist landed on Hopen, where four of its crew lived through the winter.
History Store norske leksikon
The timeline by era
Svalbard