Church boat rower struck by can thrown from bridge in Rovaniemi

A member of a traditional church boat rowing crew in Rovaniemi suffered a severe head injury on Sunday after being hit by a half-litre energy drink can thrown from a bridge, Finnish broadcaster Yle reports.

The incident occurred around 7 pm as the Rovaniemi church boat rowing group was practicing beneath the Ounasjoki bridge. Witnesses said the can, thrown from a height of roughly ten metres, struck one rower in the head, causing heavy bleeding. The victim remained conscious and was taken by fellow crew members to the nearby Arktikum shore before being transported to Lapland Central Hospital for treatment.

Alisa Olkinuora, a member of the rowing group seated directly behind the injured rower, described the moment to Yle: “I saw the impact but didn’t catch any movement on the bridge itself.” She later called the situation “life-threatening” in a Facebook post, where she also thanked an off-duty nurse and a medical student who assisted at the scene before emergency services arrived.

Lapland Police confirmed to Yle that a criminal report has been filed but declined to provide further details. Olkinuora urged the public to discuss the dangers of throwing objects from bridges, emphasizing the potential consequences of such actions.