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Four friends saw the road open in front of them as they drove home Wednesday night. A few meters from the edge of the avalanche, the car with the hazard lights is still on.
Here the group of four friends stopped abruptly when they saw the road open in front of them. Photo: Fredrik Hagen / NTB
– I’ve never seen anything like it in my whole life. It was like a movie. Everything happened very fast. It was very strange, says Even Nygaard Østreng (19) Aftenposten.
At around 0400 on Wednesday evening, there was a landslide at Gjerdrum in Viken, 3-4 miles north of Oslo. At least 14 addresses are affected. More than 900 people have been evacuated.
Østreng and three companions were a few meters from being carried away by the avalanche.
It was Dagbladet who brought up the case for the first time.
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Mantas’ (27) mother was ventilating the dog when the avalanche occurred. Since then, no one in the family has seen her.
Along with Bendik Andersen (19), Edvard Fiskum (19) and a fourth friend, they were heading home when the road cracked in front of them.
– We drove there as usual. Suddenly we saw the asphalt crack and rise a few meters from us, says Østreng, who was driving the car.
Even Nygaard Østreng (19) drove the car which stopped abruptly a few meters from the landslide in Gjerdrum. Photo: Private
– Like a movie
– We stopped abruptly on impulse, says Edvard Fiskum.
The companions soon realized that they could not stay in the car. When they got out of the car, the road had disappeared. Then they ran to a roundabout.
– Then it was just a matter of calling the emergency services and helping those who came running. People came only in underwear. They were awakened by the landslide, Fiskum says.
– What did you think when you saw that the road opened?
– We don’t think much. We just had to get away. When we got to safety, we realized that it was a landslide. The house fell apart and we were six feet from it. Only then did we see how serious it was, he says.
– What if he had driven 20 seconds earlier?
– Then we would have come down. It may be a matter of five seconds. You can get a little distracted by thinking too much about it. We are very happy with how well it went.
Comrades Bendik Andersen (19) and Edvard Fiskum (19) were sitting in the car. – Surreal, says Andersen. Photo: Private
Children not counted
There are 11 people missing Wednesday night. Among them are children.
Ten injured have been sent to the hospital and the emergency room. One of them is seriously injured.
A total of four new homes collapsed Wednesday afternoon.
– We cannot ignore that several houses can suffer the same fate. These buildings are located on the brink of the avalanche, Operations Manager Roger Pettersen said shortly before 5 p.m.
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Such were the dramatic hours: “Just a big hole in the ground.” “Cover with roof sheeting and cables.”
Praise the work of the police
Bendik Andersen in the car tells of a surreal experience.
– It is in Gjerdrum, a small town, so it affects the entire local community. We know who most of the people are, although we don’t know them.
Now the colleagues want to praise the emergency services that came to the scene.
– All credit to them for being there so fast, says Fiskum.
– What did you say when you called the police?
– It was a bit out of place. It must have been exhausting for him to pick up the phone. But I said the road broke in front of us, he says.
They didn’t get home until 8 a.m. on Wednesday. And the car is still there, with the hazard lights on.
