ROVANIEMI — A hydrographic survey drone operated by Kemi Oy became irrecoverable on Tuesday afternoon following a 40-minute unscheduled stationary event above the Valajaskoski hydroelectric plant's primary intake channel, approximately 28 kilometres upstream of the Rovaniemi urban zone.
The drone, a mid-range aerial survey unit deployed as part of Kemi Oy's annual infrastructure assessment programme, deviated from its programmed flight path at 14:09 local time and maintained a stationary position approximately four metres above the waterline at the intake's southern margin. Operators reported that the aircraft remained partially responsive to command inputs for the first eleven minutes before telemetry contact became intermittent. At 14:49, the unit descended into the intake channel and did not resurface.
In the final six seconds of recovered camera footage, operators described an elongated disturbance in the intake flow consistent with the passage of a large submerged entity moving in an upstream direction. The footage has been forwarded to the Lapland Regional Warden Office. The specific dimensions noted in the incident log have not been disclosed.
Kemi Oy confirmed that a provisional Form W-7 (Riverine Entity Proximity Notification) had been filed with the Näkki Warden by 16:30 the same day. This represents the first Form W-7 referral arising from infrastructure operations in the Valajaskoski section, which lies outside the previously established Kemijoki Exclusion Zone boundaries. The Warden Office confirmed receipt of the notification but declined to state whether the exclusion zone's northern boundary would be revised.
The drone, assessed at a replacement value of €14,000, has not been recovered and retrieval from the intake channel is not currently scheduled. Kemi Oy has issued a temporary no-fly advisory for unmanned aircraft operating below 60 metres altitude across a 2.4-kilometre river section centred on the Valajaskoski plant. The advisory applies until further notice.
The Regional Administration advises members of the public that the intake infrastructure and associated access roads at Valajaskoski are not recreational areas. Persons observing unusual surface disturbances in the Kemijoki river between the Valajaskoski and Pirttikoski sections are requested to contact the nearest Warden station rather than approaching the waterline directly.
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