Girl, 2, and her father, 40, are confirmed dead in Norway’s landslide as the seventh body is pulled from the rubble and rescuers continue the search for three people still missing
- Rescue workers have uncovered a seventh body five days after a landslide in Ask
- Norwegian King Harald visited the scene of the disaster near its capital, Oslo
- Rescue teams are continuing the search for people still missing in the landslide
- Ten people were injured in the landslide, including one seriously, say police
Rescue workers have uncovered a seventh body in the rubble of a Norwegian landslide, with a two-year-old girl and her father among the dead.
The rescuers are still working to find survivors five days after homes were buried in Ask, near Norway’s capital.
The landslide happened in the early hours of Wednesday morning when houses were destroyed and shifted hundreds of metres under a torrent of mud at the village of Ask, 15 miles northeast of Oslo.
Police said the latest body was found near where two others had been recovered on Sunday, but gave no further details.
A damaged house is seen at a landslide area in Ask, Gjerdrum county, on January 1, 2021, a few days after a landslide in a small Norwegian town north of Oslo
Rescue teams are still working following the discovery of a sixth victim of the disaster in the town near Norway’s capital, Oslo
Emergency services near the site of a landslide in Ask, northeast of Oslo, Thursday, December 31. A landslide smashed into a residential area near the Norwegian capital Wednesday
Police spokesperson Bjorn Christian Willersrud told journalists they hoped to find more survivors in the landslide zone.
‘It is still a rescue operation until we decide otherwise,’ he said.
Five of the recovered victims have been identified, including a two-year-old girl and her father, 40. A woman in her fifties and her 29-year-old son have also been identified, a police statement said.
The discovery of a fourth body had been made Saturday after three were recovered the day before at the bleak, snow-covered scene at Ask, in Gjerdrum municipality.
Police on Saturday identified the body of the first person found on Friday as 31-year-old Eirik Grønolen.
Earlier police published the names of all ten people, including the two-year-old and a 13-year-old, who went missing on Wednesday.
Destroyed houses are seen in a crater left behind by a landslide in the town of Ask, Gjerdrum county, some 40 km northeast of the capital Oslo, on December 31
A rescue helicopter hovers over a landslide area in Ask, Gjerdrum county, on December 31, one day after the landslide
A rescue crew are seen near the scene of devastation before they search the area for survivors on Saturday
Rescue crews gather inside a building in Ask in Gjerdrum,on January 2, following a landslide in the town some 40 km northeast of the capital Oslo
The head of the rescue operation, Goran Syversen, said on Sunday: ‘We are working hard in the depression created by the landslide.
‘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.’
The rescuers received a visit Sunday from the Norwegian royal family, including King Harald, Queen Sonja and Crown Prince Haakon, who lit candles for the victims in a local church.
They also visited relatives and evacuees at Olavsgaard hotel in Skjetten.
‘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 sympathise with you who are beginning the new year with sadness and uncertainty,’ he said in a televised statement.
Norwegian King Harald and Queen Sonja have arrived in Ask to visit the scenes of devastation following the landslide and meet survivors
King Harald lights a candle in Gjerdrum Church in memory of the victims of the landslide on Sunday
Several of 5,000 residents of Ask, Norway, have lit candles in memory of those who lost their lives in the disaster
Candles are placed on the snow in Gjerdrum on January 1, in tribute to the victims of a landslide in Ask
Residents of the town have lit candles in honour of those who lost their lives in the tragedy.
The authorities have banned all aircraft from the disaster area until 3pm Monday as they conduct aerial searches.
Ten people were also injured in the landslide, including one seriously who was transferred to Oslo for treatment.
About a thousand people have been evacuated out of a local population of 5,000, because of fears for the safety of their homes as the land continues to move.
‘It is a completely surreal and terrible situation,’ one of the evacuees, Olav Gjerdingen, said.
A mobile bridge from the Norwegian Armed Forces is seen as it is prepared for use in the rescue works in the crater of a landslide in the town of Ask on January 1
A rescue helicopter files near the site of a landslide in Ask on Thursday. A landslide smashed into a residential area near the Norwegian capital Wednesday
Search and rescue teams have been using sniffer dogs, helicopters and drones in a bid to find survivors.
The search teams were also digging channels in the ground to evacuate casualties.
Experts say the disaster was a ‘quick clay slide’ of approximately 300 by 800 metres.
Quick clay is found in Norway and Sweden and notorious for collapsing after turning to fluid when overstressed.
Prime Minister Erna Solberg described it as one of the biggest landslides the country had ever experienced.
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