Norway Landslide Death Toll Climbs as Searchers Push On

(Bloomberg) -- Norwegian rescuers have now recovered five bodies at a village not far from the nation’s capital hit by a landslide on Wednesday, with 5 people still missing.

The latest discovery was made at little before 6 a.m. local time by search and rescue specialist from the fire brigade, the police said in a statement. Rescuers worked through the night and are still searching for survivors, Kenneth Wangen, head of the fire operation, told reporters.

The quick-clay slide happened about 20 kilometers north of Oslo and follows a month of record rainfall. About 1,000 people were evacuated from the area after the landslide devastated large parts of the village.

Such landslides are known to occur in Norway and neighboring Sweden when the quick clay common to some parts of Scandinavia fills with rainwater and turns to liquid, according to the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute. Several houses were carried out into the sea due to a similar slide in June. No one was injured in that event.

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