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- More than 700 people were brought to safety after a landslide early Wednesday morning in the village of Ask.
- At least 10 people were injured leaving, about 40 kilometers from the capital Oslo, police said.
- At least 11 people are missing. There are no reports of deaths.
The landslide hit several buildings in Ask. The missing people lived in the affected area, but could also have been outside at the time of the landslide, Operations Manager Roger Pettersen said.
Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Justice Minister Monica Maeland traveled to Ask to get an idea of the local situation. “I agree with the police that this is a disaster,” Solberg said after speaking with operations management. The landslide extended over a length of 700 meters and a width of 300 meters.
The cause is still unclear
The exact cause of the departure is not yet clear. But it could be related to the local soil type, he told himself. This is the so-called Quickton, a structure rich in water that is unstable. There are hills in the Ask area but no high mountains. It had rained a lot there recently.
“This is one of the largest landslides in recent years,” said Torild Hofshagen of the Norwegian authority for water and energy. In his opinion, the cause could be natural or mining.
According to media reports, the police had been alerted around 4 am and launched a major rescue operation that also included the Red Cross. Helicopters were used to bring people from the affected areas. Darkness and bad weather initially made rescue work difficult. Geologists also arrived at the scene.
