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Norwegian police say a fatality has been found in the landslides in Gjerdrum. The rescue effort is still underway to find survivors after Wednesday’s extensive landslide, but the crew is retreating from the area of the landslide for the night.
Work stopped at 6pm on Friday, according to police, it is too dangerous to let rescuers work in the area of the landslide in the dark. Preparations are made during the afternoon and evening so that crews can be deployed immediately in the morning.
During the night, the tracking work will continue in other ways, including drones equipped with thermal cameras.
– Of course we know the victims, but we are professionals and we work hard to find survivors, Operations Manager Roger Pettersen said at the Friday night press conference.
Pettersen still couldn’t rule out that more people could be found dead.
Police were silent on the victim’s details and did not disclose the person’s gender or age.
The rescue operation has been ongoing since Wednesday and is still continuing to find the nine people who are missing.
– We have worked hard throughout the night and continue to work with the rescue effort. We did flybys last night but didn’t find any then, Task Force leader Roy Alkvist said Friday afternoon.
Crews and sniffer dogs headed to so-called red zones in the landslide area on Friday, which have so far been deemed too dangerous to access on foot.
According to the police, there are people with a high probability in the area and the leader of the task says that there is still hope of finding survivors. On Thursday, a dog was found safe and sound.
The Swedish Armed Forces Engineer Battalion assists in rescue efforts with a vehicle that can develop a 26-meter-long bridge.
An armored vehicle carries a movable bridge in a snowy landscape. The image also shows soldiers.
Nine people are still missing, including women, men and children. According to the police, it is still possible that there are more or less than nine in the area.
1,000 people were evacuated from the area on Wednesday shortly after the landslide and further evacuations may be necessary. On New Year’s Eve, 46 people were evacuated from 14 homes near the area of the landslide after cracks were basically discovered.
Updated on 1.1.2021 at 18.50 with information from the press conference on Friday night.
Source: NRK
