Rescuers have found three bodies of the remains of a landslide in the Norwegian village of Ask and are still searching for seven missing people, officials said on Saturday.
The landslide, which is said to be the worst in the country’s history, took place on Wednesday, destroying several buildings and forcing more than 1,000 people to evacuate.
Search teams patrolled the residential area on Saturday where the landslide hit with dogs, helicopters and drones that could detect body heat under the snow.
“Medically, you can survive a few days if you have air,” Ida Melbo Oeystese, chief of police, told reporters at a news conference.
Officials have not yet identified the three bodies as of Saturday afternoon. The first was discovered on Friday and two were recovered on Saturday.
Limited daylight hours and unstable ground at the rescue site challenged rescue efforts.
The exact cause of the landslide has not been disclosed, but authorities expect that over the past few weeks excessive rain may have contributed.
“Not since 1893 has there been a rapid clay grass of this dimension in Norway,” the Norwegian Water Directorate, Toril Hofshagen, told media on Saturday.