Landslide ravages town in Norway
A landslide struck a small, snow-covered village in Norway early on Wednesday, injuring at least 10 people and leaving 12 missing as a sweeping rescue operation continued past sundown, authorities said.
The ground beneath the village of Ask was still shifting around 7 p.m. local time, the police said, hours after the night fell on the community about 20 miles outside of Oslo.
Over the course of the day, hundreds were evacuated and one person, seriously injured, was flown to Oslo, the nation’s capital, according to authorities. Images showed a deep sea of mud scarring a swath of the land in a residential neighborhood.
Homes fell into the crater after the quick clay landslide. The village, home to roughly 5,000 people, is located in the municipality of Gjerdrum.
“It hurts to see how the forces of nature have ravaged Gjerdrum,” Erna Solberg, Norway’s prime minister, tweeted. “My thoughts go to everyone affected by the landslide. Now it is important that the emergency services get their job done.”
Solberg identified the landslide as one of the most destructive in the country’s history.
The police said the number of missing people was preliminary and subject to revision in either direction as the search continues. Because the land was still moving, searches were limited to rooftop work, according to authorities.
King Harald V said in a statement that his thoughts were 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 disaster.”