Densely populated area – Norway landslide: 26 people are missing – News

• More than 500 people were brought to safety after a landslide early Wednesday morning in the town of Ask.
• Police said at least 10 people were injured when they left the capital Oslo, about 40 kilometers to the northwest.
• According to the police, at least 26 people are missing. There are no reports of deaths.

The landslide hit several buildings in Ask. The missing lived in the affected area, but could also have been outside at the time of the landslide, Pettersen said.

The exact cause of the departure is not yet clear. But it could be related to the local soil type, which is very unstable. There are hills in the area, but no high mountains. It had rained a lot there recently.

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.

Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg has now arrived in the municipality of Gjerdrum, to which Ask belongs. He spoke of a great catastrophe.