Nine injured as mini-tornado flattens marquee at Helsinki golf tournament
European Ladies' Golf Tour event called off after 36 holes
The Ladies Finnish Masters, an event on the Women's European Tour circuit, came to a catastrophic end on Sunday morning, after a mini-tornado swept across the Tali golf course in Helsinki. The violent gust flattened and blew away a hospitality tent that was packed with people, including some of the players, after play had just been suspended owing to heavy rain.
Nine people were injured, mainly as a result of being struck by flying debris and the rigging of the tent.
The tent had been erected close to an area of the course known as "Piccadilly", where four holes meet up. Around 50 people were sheltering inside when the tornado struck.
One of the injured, Kirsty Taylor from England, was actually a competitor in the event. She was struck on the head by a tent-pole. Another injury was to one of the caddies, while the others were spectators or competition officials. One child was among those taken to hospital.
Ambulances were soon on the scene. None of the injuries was very serious; most people suffered bruising, cuts, or minor fractures as the contents of the marquee flew everywhere.
Nevertheless, all the ingredients were there for something a good deal worse, commented a somewhat relieved Inspector Juha Hakola of the Helsinki Police Department.
Hakola emphasised that the police are looking at the incident as an accident and a freak of nature, and that there is no reason to suggest that there was anything amiss in the structure of the marquee: it was designed to take a strong wind, but nothing like this.
Tero Kumpulainen, a representative of Infront Finland, the promoter of the Helsinki event, said that the mini-tornado had struck suddenly and quite without warning.
He stressed that the organisers had paid close attention to the weather forecast in the early morning, and that there had been no indication of storm-force winds.
The first round of the competition had also been interrupted by bad weather on Friday, so organisers were already sensitized towards hostile conditions. However, all that was promised for the Sunday morning were some showers.
When word came from the Finnish Meteorological Institute that more severe weather was in prospect for the afternoon, the tournament - already suspended - was called off altogether after 36 holes, with the final results being based on the standings at the end of the second round of play. As it happened, victory went to Lisa Holm Sörensen of Denmark, and Finland's Ursula Wikström was among four players tied for 2nd place.
A number of eye-witnesses reported having seen the mini-tornado, and they described a black whirlwind effect that looked more redolent of a comic-strip than a Finnish Sunday morning. Some spoke of hearing a whistling, rattling noise as the tornado passed by.
The effects were inmmediate and dramatic. In addition to the damage in Tali, numerous trees were felled in the Pitäjänmäki and Haaga districts of Helsinki as the twister swept past.
Not long before the incident at the golf course, hundreds of trees were toppled in Kirkkonummi to the west, apparently by a similar tornado. Electricity lines were brought down by the falling trees and roads were also blocked off. Power was restored to nearly all households by Monday morning, and no injuries were reported.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 29.8.2005 - TODAY |
 Nine injured as mini-tornado flattens marquee at Helsinki golf tournament
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