Some of the houses in the landslide in Gjerdrum have moved up to 400 meters. According to the rescue workers, there may be missing people inside the houses.
“It is a big task. Those who are missing may be in some of the houses. The houses have moved up to 400 meters,” operations manager Morten Thoresen at Nedre Romerike fire and rescue service noted.
According to Thoresen, it is challenging to locate the houses swept away by the landslide.
A total of nine houses and 31 residential units have collapsed in the landslide. Police say there are still buildings that could collapse.
Police hope to find survivors
Ten people are still missing after a landslide occurred in Ask in Gjerdrum Municipality in the early hours of Wednesday.
The police emphasize that they are still searching for survivors.
“I do not want to comment on the degree of optimism, but as long as there is a rescue operation, we hope to find people alive, and that is what we are dealing with,” police chief Dag Andre Sylju said on Thursday morning.
Continued danger of new landslides
The landslide in Gjerdrum is among the largest in Norway’s history. It is 700 meters long and 300 meters wide.
The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) says there is still a danger of new landslides.
“There is still a risk of new landslides occurring in the area,” regional manager of NVE Toril Hofshagen noted.
She said that they are working on mapping the possibilities for safely delimiting the evacuated area.
Around 1,000 people have so far been evacuated. The goal is for some of them to be able to move back home for New Year’s Eve.
Challenging conditions
The search and rescue operation for the ten missing persons has been going on through the night without anyone being found. A dog that was in the landslide zone has been rescued by helicopter.
> Rescue crews searched for people in Gjerdrum through the night, no new survivors found
Police operations manager Roger Pettersen says that Swedish USAR crews are now on site.
Denmark has also offered its rescue support and expertise.
The infrastructure in the area is poor, and efforts are being made to assist farms that have lost water, electricity, and heat. There are three farms with livestock affected by the avalanche.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
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