Eyewitness: It was most definitely a submarine
Publicerad 2014-10-20
An eyewitness who possibly captured an image of what is assumed to be a submarine in the Stockholm archipelago has come forward.
“It was most definitely a submarine - I'm completely sure of it,” said eyewitness ‘Erik’, who asked Aftonbladet not to reveal his real name.
Since the image was taken, the Swedish armed forces have confiscated both Erik’s camera and memory card, and held a press conference regarding the findings yesterday.
Erik, 27, told Aftonbladet in an exclusive interview about how he spotted the submarine while with his girlfriend early on Sunday morning.
Stepping outside for a morning cigarette, Erik brought his camera, as he couldn't find his binoculars.
“I was thinking, ‘Is that the thing they're hunting?’” he recalled. ”It stood still, then silently surfaced and moved forward about five or six metres, before it submerged again.”
He described a black object he called “the tower”, which surfaced above the water and then submerged again, but couldn't spot any flag or symbols on the vessel. Erik was using his camera mainly for its zoom lens, but also managed to take pictures of the vessel.
“When you've seen a thousand ships pass by and then something stands out, you find it interesting”, he explained.
The moment lasted just a few minutes, but Erik estimated the speed of the vessel to be around five knots.
“I didn't notice it leaving any wake,” he said. “It moved forward slowly and steadily. There wasn't much going through my mind except for, 'Wow, something is actually going on here!’”
Straight afterwards, Erik called the Swedish armed forces, and they quickly paid him a visit.
“They arrived and asked lots of questions,” added Erik. “They were really interested in my description of the tower, but didn’t really give me any information in return. They examined [the spot] where I took the photograph, and then they left.”
The armed forces representatives also confiscated Erik's camera and his memory card.
On Sunday evening they held a press conference about what has been described as 'foreign underwater operations' in the Jungfrufjärden bay in the Stockholm archipelago, and discussed the image.
“It shows some kind of submarine tower, and after it a wake - I would say the speed is about three to four knots,” said Rear Admiral Anders Grenstad last night.
According to experts, the image is proof of ongoing ‘foreign underwater operations’ in Swedish waters - and even though some have doubted what was really captured on Erik's rather blurry picture, he himself was very sure.
“It was most definitely a submarine, I'm completely sure of it,” he affirmed. “The only question is where it is now.”
Translation: Torbjörn Ek