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Ten people remain missing following a landslide Wednesday morning in Ask in Gjerdrum municipality.
The search for survivors has lasted two days and continues in full force.
Norwegian People’s Aid Operational Leader Harald Wisløff tells NRK that they still have hope of finding survivors.
– We’re still looking for survivors. We know this doesn’t look very good, but it is still a rescue operation and not a search for suspected dead, Wisløff tells NRK.
– How long is it possible to survive when it is as cold as now?
– Our experts know that you can survive many, many days in a building if you have access to air. So there is no reason to reduce this, it is still a rescue operation, he says.
– Very demanding
Harald Wisløff, Norwegian People’s Aid Operational Leader.
Photo: Åse Marit Befring / NRK
Police say there are many people in the area of the landslide. There may be more and fewer people in the area than the ten missing.
– The search continues unabated and will continue throughout the night. We do ongoing evaluations of what measures we think are sensible, says task leader Håkon Berg on Thursday night.
Until now it has been too dangerous to walk into the avalanche area and searches have been carried out with helicopters.
According to Wisløff, it is frustrating for rescuers not to be able to be on the ground and search for the missing.
– How do you feel about not being able to go down in the search and participate down there where the missing people are?
– Both for us who have rescue work as a hobby and for us who have rescue work as a job, this is of course frustrating. It is life that we want to save. Being here on hold without being able to get off and saving lives is very frustrating and a strain for the crew that cannot be “boots on the ground,” says Wisløff.
New unsafe area in Gjerdrum
Another 46 people were evacuated Thursday from 14 houses in an area north of the avalanche in Gjerdrum. There are cracks in the ground, NVE says.
– There are cracks in the soil and visible clay in some streams in the area, says regional leader Toril Hofshagen at NVE to NTB.
The area in question is located next to the Kokstad farm, about 2 kilometers north of the Ask landslide. 1,000 people were evacuated Wednesday night and it was announced that a further evacuation might be necessary.
On Thursday morning, NVE stated that there is still a danger of further rapid clay landslides in Gjerdrum.
