Landslide north of Oslo prompts evacuation of 700 residents, with more than 20 people still unaccounted for
A landslide has smashed into a residential area near the Norwegian capital, injuring at least 10 people, leaving 21 unaccounted for and destroying several homes, authorities said. About 700 people have been evacuated amid fears of further landslides.
Norwegian police were alerted at 4am to the slide in the village of Ask, in the municipality of Gjerdrum, some 20km (12 miles) north-east of Oslo.
The landslide cut across a road, leaving a deep ravine that cars could not pass. Video footage showed dramatic scenes including one house falling into the ravine. Photographs showed at least eight destroyed homes.
Rescue workers continued to search the area for children and adults feared to have been caught in mud and debris, police said. “We’re still looking for survivors,” police spokesman Roger Pettersen told a news conference.
Pettersen said there were no reports of missing people, but officials could not rule out the possibility of survivors in collapsed buildings. He said 21 people registered as living in the area are unaccounted for.
One of the injured was seriously hurt, while nine had lighter injuries. Weather at the time was reported to be challenging, with snow and winter conditions. Ask is home to about 5,000 people.
Norway’s King Harald said the landslide had made a deep impression on him. “My thoughts are with all those who are affected, injured or have lost their homes and those who now live in fear and uncertainty of the full extent of the catastrophe,” the 83-year-old monarch said in a statement released by the royal palace.
“It hurts to see how the forces of nature have ravaged Gjerdrum. My thoughts go to all those affected by the landslide. Now it is important that the emergency services get their job done,” the Norwegian prime pinister, Erna Solberg, tweeted.
In a separate statement, she called the disaster “probably one of the biggest landslides we have had, and with the biggest consequences.”
The area in which Ask is located is known to have a lot of quick clay, which can change from solid to liquid form. Previous landslides have been reported in the region.
Helicopters continued to hover over the area as night fell, at times lowering emergency responders towards the debris of collapsed houses.
“There could be people trapped … but at the same time we can’t be sure because it is the new year’s holiday, which means people could be elsewhere,” Solberg told reporters after visiting the site.