A team of Swedish rescuers and Norwegian search and rescue dogs are helping to rescue 10 missing people following a landslide last Wednesday on a hillside in Ask, 25 kilometers northeast of Oslo, the capital of Norway , which caused the collapse of some houses.
The rescue operation has the help of helicopters, having already rescued a dog with life. On Friday, the eight Swedish rescuers and their Norwegian colleagues drew up an aid plan with the use of an army vehicle that allows them to have a giant steel bridge on which rescuers can move, according to the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.
It is a race against time, as rescue teams have few hours of light in the Norwegian winter. Low temperatures (-1ºC) and unstable clay soil have also made emergency work difficult. Several houses have been swallowed by the mud and, according to police commander Roy Alkvist, only one or two houses look safe.
So far, rescue workers have used drones and helicopters with heat cameras to look for signs of life under the rubble. More than 30 houses have been destroyed, but officials say more may be destroyed, as the crater edges caused by the landslide are unstable and may still collapse and, consequently, may still cause further damage.
The landslide started on Wednesday morning, after two strong earthquakes that led to a “rapid mudslide” causing a crater measuring 300 meters by 700 meters. “This is the largest landslide in recent times in Norway, considering the number of houses involved and the number of displaced people,” said Laila Hoivik, spokeswoman for the Norwegian Water and Energy Directorate.
Rapid clay is characteristic of Norway and Sweden and is a type of soil that can collapse and become fluid when it is under tension. Heavy rains may have made the soil unstable, but doubts have since arisen as to why construction has been allowed in the area. A 2005 geological survey classified the area as being at high risk of landslides, according to a report revealed by broadcaster TV2. Despite this, the houses were built three years later, in 2008.
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