Seventh body found after Norway landslide
January 3, 2021
Norwegian rescue teams discovered a seventh body on Sunday, four days after a landslide buried several homes in a small village near the capital, Oslo.
A police statement announced that the body had been found at about 5.30 p.m. local time. A sixth body had been recovered just before 1 p.m.
Rescue teams again worked through the night in the village of Ask, where a landslide swallowed homes on Wednesday. Three people are still believed to be missing.
"We are working hard in the depression created by the landslide," the head of the rescue operation, Goran Syversen, told journalists.
"We have five teams working at the same time. They are doing very difficult work which is not without risk. Nevertheless, we are making good progress."
A fifth body was discovered earlier on Sunday. Police uncovered three bodies on Saturday and one on Friday.
The first deceased person found on Friday has been identified as a 31-year-old man, while the identities of the other victims have not been released.
Search teams have been hindered by unstable ground, poor weather conditions and a limited number of daylight hours.
As such, they have resorted to the use of heat-sensitive drones, helicopters and rescue dogs.
Authorities say the chances of a second landslide are relatively low.
Norway's second-biggest earthfall
On Wednesday morning, a torrent of mud buried parts of the Ask village, 25 kilometers (15 miles) northeast of the capital Oslo.
At least 10 people were injured, one of which had to be transported to Oslo for treatment.
Norway's King Harald V and his family visited the village on Sunday to pay their respects. "I'm having trouble finding something to say, because it's absolutely horrible," the king said after the visit.
"This terrible event impacts us all. I sympathize with you who are beginning the new year with sadness and uncertainty," he added in a televised statement.
Prime Minister Erna Solberg called it one of the biggest landslides in the country's history.
Experts explained that the disaster was caused by a "quick clay slide" measuring around 800 by 300 meters (2624 by 984 feet).
There had been warnings of potential accidents due to the clay since 2005.
More than 1,000 people from the 5,000 living in the village were evacuated and authorities said that up to 1,500 may have to be relocated.
nm,ab/mm (dpa, AFP, LUSA)