Monday, 23rd December 2024

Norway landslide: Rescue operations on to find 10 missing people

At least ten people are still not found after overnight searches in the Norwegian village of Ask, where an enormous landslide hit overnight on Wednesday.

Friday, 1st January 2021

At least ten people are still not found after overnight searches in the Norwegian village of Ask, where an enormous landslide hit overnight on Wednesday.

At least ten people are still not found after overnight searches in the Norwegian village of Ask, where an enormous landslide hit overnight on Wednesday.

Local authorities in the town of Gjerdrum are still hoping to find survivors among the destruction - although the danger of further avalanches indicates the area is not yet out of the woods.

"The search is still a rescue plan. We hope to find people alive," police task leader Dag Andre Sylju told NRK on Thursday morning.

"The landslide is still in motion; there are still homes that are completely on edge."

For safety reasons, much of the search is being carried in the air by drone and by helicopters fitted with a heat-sensing camera. These cameras have helped to spot citizens still stuck in the area and have resulted in several evacuations in the past 24 hours.

A total of ten people were injured when the slide originally hit the village, one of whom is said to be critical and was rushed to Ullevål for further treatment. Four were brought to Ahus by ambulance, and five were treated locally.

Thirty-one housing units and nine houses also collapsed, according to NRK, while 900 people have so far been evacuated. Gjerdrum Anders Østensen determines the number evacuees will likely rise to 1,500 as more dangerous areas are found.

After meeting with the families of those still missing, Østensen recalled to the media how "scared and anxious" they had been about finding their relatives alive.

"They are very scared and worried about what the outcome will be," he said. "The hope is that they are either found alive or that they stay somewhere other than the landslide area."

Norway's Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness teams say they are monitoring the situation closely.

"It hurts to see how the forces of nature have captured Gjerdrum," Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg tweeted on Wednesday.

"My thoughts go to all those assumed by the landslide. Now it is important that the emergency services get their job done."