Body of Finnish soldier, Jukka Kansonen, flown home

Fallen Finnish ISAF soldier met with military honours on return home.

The body of First Lieutenant Jukka Kansonen was met with military honours when it arrived in Finland from Afghanistan on Thursday.

Kansonen’s colleagues from the Gulf of Finland maritime defence region carried a wooden coffin draped with the Finnish flag off a transport plane at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport at about 7:00 PM on Thursday.

Also arriving was Kansonen’s group commander, who had the unenviable task of escorting Kansonen on his last trip home.

Kansonen was killed on Tuesday, 15th February in a roadside bomb attack.
     
In the brief military ceremony, the coffin was carried on a red carpet to a waiting hearse, where next of kin were gathered.

Five Finnish flags flew at half staff in the freezing-cold weather.

From the airport, the body was first taken away for an official autopsy.

Finnish officer, Jukka Kansonen

A Finnish peacekeeper with the ISAF forces in Northern Afghanistan was killed on Tuesday in a blast from an improvised roadside bomb.

The attack took place near the town of Aybak in Samangan Province, and according to a statement from the Finnish Defence Forces the victim was Senior Lieutenant Jukka Kansonen (b. 1975).

The officer's family have been informed, and plans are being drawn up for the return of his body to Finland.

Finland military fatalities since 2002

FINLAND

This is the full list of Finland's military fatalities since 2002

Date	Name	Rank	Age	Unit	Cause
15-Feb-11	Kansonen, Jukka	Lieutenant	35	Finnish Navy	IED attack
23-May-07	Immonen, Petri Tapio	Sergeant	29	Finnish Border Guard	IED attack

Finnish soldier, Sgt Petri Immonen, killed by roadside bomb

Finnish Border Guard, Sergeant Petri Tapio Immonen, 29,was killed 23rd May 2007 when a roadside bomb detonated near a patrol escorting members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Maymaneh in northern Afghanistan.