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Ten people were injured, one of them in critical condition, and for 21 people there is so far no information after a large landslide and mudslide in the southern Norwegian town of Ask, which destroyed more than 12 buildings before the dawn today, local police said. BTA.
The city is located about 30 km north of the capital, Oslo, and is the center of the municipality of Yerdrum.
The video images showed the formation of a large crater with destroyed buildings at the bottom. Other buildings literally hang from the rim of the crater, sealing the moment when one of them also collapses. Helicopters fly over the area, inspecting the destroyed buildings for survivors under the rubble.
So far, some 700 people have been evacuated from the area.
“We felt two strong shakes that lasted a long time, and I thought they were shoveling the snow or something,” one of the evacuees told ERC.
“Then all of a sudden the electricity went off and a neighbor knocked on the door and said we had to evacuate urgently. I woke up my three grandchildren and told them to get dressed quickly,” he added. The missing people come from homes in the innermost part of the landslide, but it is unclear whether they were locked in their homes, were elsewhere at the same time or simply managed to escape in time, police said.
“This is a disaster,” Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Sulberg told reporters after visiting the disaster area. “There may be people trapped inside, but we can’t be sure because it’s New Year’s Eve, which means people may be elsewhere.”
The prime minister warned that rescue operations could take a long time, perhaps days.
“The situation remains so volatile that it is impossible to make any rescue attempt other than by helicopter,” Sulberg said.
Heavy rains have fallen in southern Norway in recent days, which may have caused the clay layers to shift, NRK radio suggested.
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