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There are still three people missing. The Norwegian royal family has traveled to the disaster area.
Four days after a violent landslide in southern Norway, rescuers have found seven dead in the disaster area. After the first find on New Year’s Day and three others on Saturday, emergency services discovered three more people dead on Sunday. Three people were still missing at night. More than 100 hours after the disaster, rescuers did not lose hope of finding survivors.
Authorities identified five deaths as of Sunday. Among them were a two-year-old girl and her 40-year-old father. The other identified dead are a woman of approximately 50 years and her 29-year-old son and a 31-year-old man.
The royal family visits the disaster area
The fate of the people in the disaster area about 40 kilometers northeast of Oslo had accompanied the Norwegians at the turn of the year. The Norwegian royal family also showed their sympathy. King Harald V (83), Queen Sonja (83) and Crown Prince Haakon (47) traveled to Gjerdrum municipality on Sunday to meet with representatives of the community, emergency services and those affected. In the commune church they also lit candles in memory of the victims. “That’s absolutely terrible,” Harald later said of the accident. “It is very difficult to put into words.”
The landslide in Ask had already occurred at the beginning of December 30, it had expanded to a length of about 700 meters and a width of 300 meters and left a huge crater. At least ten people were injured and nine houses with more than 30 residential units collapsed. So far, around 1,000 people have been saved.
The ground in parts of the snowy accident area was initially so unstable after the exit that it was too dangerous for rescuers to enter. Instead, helicopters and drones were used to search for survivors. Since Friday, rescuers and police dogs could also be sent on foot to the red zone in the area, where the first body was found.
The first one found, a 31-year-old man, was apparently also a friend of Norwegian professional tennis player Casper Ruud. “We have lost a fantastic person and a fantastic fellow citizen. I have lost a friend, a colleague and an important colleague on my team,” the 22-year-old wrote on Instagram. According to the NTB news agency, the 31-year-old has worked with various sports professionals and held a management position in a company he ran with Ruud.
(APA / dpa / AFP)
