Stockholm, Dec. 31, (dpa/GNA) – Eleven people were designated as “missing” after a large landslide hit the small town of Ask in southern Norway, police said late Wednesday as they continued their search.
Police said they would continue to search for survivors overnight, despite challenging conditions.
“We believe with considerable certainty that there are people in the landslide area, but it’s not possible to say if there are 11 or less,” Roger Pettersen, head of the police operation, told reporters.
The missing include adults and children, and are all thought to be local residents whom police have not been able to reach.
Earlier, police said up to 26 people were unaccounted for. The number has been revised during the course of the day.
Pettersen said fewer personnel would be deployed overnight, citing darkness and the need to give some a rest.
“We have not found any bodies,” Pettersen said early in the evening.
Pettersen said specially trained personnel were searching the area from the air, some lowered from helicopters onto the roofs of buildings in the worst-hit zone, heat-seeking cameras were also deployed.
Conditions were extremely challenging as the area hit by the landslide remains so unstable that it can only be accessed by helicopter. Visibility was also reduced due to darkness.
The landslide hit Ask, a town of about 5,000 people around 40 kilometres north of Oslo, early in the morning.
Ten people were reported injured, including six who have been hospitalized with moderate injuries. Some were suffering from hypothermia, hospital officials said.
Visiting the scene along with Justice Minister Monica Maeland, Prime Minister Erna Solberg earlier warned that the rescue operation could take several days.
“It is a dramatic experience to be here and see images from the scene of the accident and the whole landslide, and of course the knowledge that there are several that have not been accounted for,” Solberg said.
King Harald V expressed his sympathies with the people who were affected and lauded the emergency services for their effort, a palace statement read.
As of late Wednesday about 900 people have been evacuated, including residents of a nearby nursing home. Police warned residents not to return to the evacuated zone to collect personal items.
Local authorities said there could be need to evacuate more people and expand the evacuation zone.
The landslide, which is estimated to be 700 metres long and 300 metres wide, created a huge crater. It has been linked to quick clay, which is very unstable. A definitive cause has not yet been determined, according to geologists who have surveyed the scene from the air.
“This is one of the largest mudslides in recent years,” said Torild Hofshagen of the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate.
Hofshagen told reporters the landslide could have been triggered by natural causes or excavation work.
Olav Gjerdingen, who lives about 150 metres from where the landslide hit, told public broadcaster NRK that police woke him and his wife at around 5 am (0400 GMT) and ordered to leave their home immediately.
Another evacuee, Oystein Gjerdrum, who was taking care of his grandchildren, managed to escape to safety with them.
“I woke up to the house shaking. I thought it was a plough truck or something… Then the power went off, and it got dark, and then the neighbour stormed in and said there has been a landslide and we have to evacuate,” he told Oslo daily VG.
The evacuees have been sent to a nearby hotel, where they were registered and offered assistance.
Local residents have also offered to open their homes and a nearby church offered crisis counselling.
GNA