Landslide buries homes in Norway; 10 injured

In Norway, a landslide in a village has buried homes under dark mud, injuring 10 people and leaving 11 missing.

Rescue workers are continuing to search for those missing in the village of Gjerdrum which is 25 kilometer north-east of the capital, Oslo.

 

About 900 people have so far been evacuated from the village. Talking to reporters, Police spokesman Roger Pettersen said, some people were feared to be trapped in mud and debris. The landslide began during the early hours yesterday with residents calling emergency services and telling them that their



houses were moving.

 

Prime Minister Erna Solberg said, the situation was still unstable and only rescues by helicopter could be carried out.Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate spokeswoman said, the landslide was a ‘quick clay slide’.She said, this is the largest landslide in recent times in Norway, considering the number of houses involved and the number of evacuees.

 

Quick clay is a kind of clay found in Norway and Sweden that can collapse and become fluid when it comes under stress.