The accident is said to have occurred on Mount Branten in Narvik, near the Swedish-Norwegian border. Norwegian police received an alarm about the accident at 20.20 on Friday evening, according to the police website.
The man was with another participant, and they reached a spot where it was particularly steep. The man fell from the mountain edge, says June Strand Jensen of the Norwegian police to Dagbladet.
She estimates that the fall was several tens of meters.
What we know is that it's very steep at the site and that there was fog in the area, says June Strand Jensen to Expressen.
The man was confirmed dead at the scene after the accident. Several helicopters and rescue personnel from Sweden participated in the operation.
Swedish rescue personnel walked across the border on foot since it was uncertain whether the helicopters could operate at the site due to the weather, says Strand Jensen to Expressen.
The orienteering competition, which takes place in the border area between Norway and Sweden over two days, began on Friday and was scheduled to continue on Saturday. However, due to the fatality, the organizer has decided to cancel the race, according to Dagbladet.
The police are now investigating the accident to determine what happened.
