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CRACKS ON THE GROUND: Image shows car with front wheels on edge of avalanche and road beginning to crack just behind. Photo: Private
Ole-Kristian Viken (61) and his wife threw themselves out of the car before capsizing on the edge of the avalanche. More than a day later, there are many things they have had to think about.
– What we value most is that we are actually alive, because if we had turned over that edge, perhaps we would not have been, and it was not very far. But of course we think mostly of those who have lost everything, that’s what’s strong, Ole-Kristian Viken tells VG.
Now he and his wife, Unni Kroken Viken, are sitting in the cabin in Trysil. With the time that has passed since it first collapsed, what actually happened has begun to become more real.
– We probably realize more and more – at first it was more “what is happening in the world”. It was completely unreal.
On Wednesday morning everything went very fast. The couple were awakened by helicopters flying over the roof. They did not know what had happened, but there was no light or water, so they realized that something had to happen.
When the police called them in the 1950s and asked them to get out quickly, they jumped into the car that was packed for a planned trip to the cabin. They knew there had been a landslide, but not where.
– We drive through the usual exit. It was completely dark. Then I look to the left when I go up the hill and I see that something is missing here, it is a house that has disappeared, says Viken.
Suddenly the front of the car is completely black.
– We braked abruptly. Then we stand on four stiff wheels and the front wheels fall off the edge. My wife yells “we have to get out of the car” and it should happen ASAP. When we get out of the car, I see that it also starts to break behind us. We ran.
Romerikes Blad first mentioned the couple’s story.
JUST BEFORE: The picture shows one of the helicopters flying over the house. It was taken just before the couple found out what was about to happen. Photo: Private
Bad feelings
The car they ran from fell into the avalanche shortly after. As he and his wife went to the city hall on foot to register, they saw traces of people who had started driving along the trails to escape, says Viken.
They are thankful that they saw the great gap in time, before the car rolled over the edge. Viken’s neighbor and colleague didn’t, he says.
– He went to work at four thirty and didn’t know anything. Drive over the edge and go straight in.
VG has spoken with the man you mention, Jan-Tore Bariås. He was trapped in the avalanche for 45 minutes, but recovered from the scene without serious injuries.
– Of course, what we think about all the time now are the people around us. We know of people we know who have not been accounted for. Clearly we have bad feelings, says Viken, and we need to take a break before continuing.
Ten people are still missing after the landslide and the search continues Thursday night. Read everything we know about what’s going on here.
OUT: Ole Kristian Viken (61) and Unni Kroken Viken (61). Photo: Private
– Not a hole to fill
Now the couple has tried to summarize a bit: they have had to buy clothes, shoes and everything they need that is not in the cabin. His house is located near the avalanche, but it has not yet collapsed. They do not know if they will ever be allowed to return and retrieve their belongings.
– It’s not a hole that you refill. It is not something you repair later. It looks like a war situation in the whole area. It won’t give any good association to be back in that area, at least not for us, says Viken.
There are a lot of things to think about that they are unlikely to relate to. Viken talks about the many practical little things that have hit him, the big ones that can seem unreal. One of them was that he suddenly thought he had cutlets to dilute in the fridge.
– Today we were surprised that you have nothing of everything, from nail scissors to toothpicks. And there is no stock of things to which it is natural to go and go. That is the case.
They were first evacuated to Olavsgaard, after registering with the city hall. There were also a lot of strong impressions, Viken says.
– It was equally unreal for everyone that you were in that situation.
They decided to move into the cabin in Trysil because it would be more like a home than sitting in a hotel room.
– But we return to Gjerdrum because we have family and friends there who welcome us, where we can live a little here and there. We don’t know what will happen to our house. But it is very doubtful that you will live in that area in the future. At least we won’t live there.
HERE WAS THE SLIDE: In the graph you can see the area where the landslide occurred. Photo: Kenneth Lauveng
