2nd body found after landslide in Norway; 8 people missing

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Louise Thomas

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Rescue teams searching for survivors four days after a landslide carried away homes in a Norwegian village found no signs of life amid the ruined buildings and debris on Saturday.

Two bodies have been recovered but searchers are looking for eight more people believed to be missing.

Ground search teams were aided by helicopters and drones with heat-detecting cameras amid harsh winter conditions on the ravaged hillside in the village of Ask, some 25 kilometers (16 miles) northeast of Oslo.

Norwegian police pledged not to scale down the search even though a rescue team from neighboring Sweden has already returned home.

Local police chief Ida Melbo Oeystese said that it may still be possible to find survivors in air pockets formed inside the destroyed buildings.

“Medically, you can survive for several days if you have air,” she told reporters at a news conference.

By Saturday afternoon, a second body had been found in the area, after a first one was found on Friday. Only a Dalmatian dog has been rescued alive from the ruins so far.

The landslide is the worst in modern Norwegian history and has sent shockwaves through citizens in the Nordic nation.

Late Friday, Norwegian police published the names and birth years of the 10 people initially reported missing. They include a 2-year-old child. Officials haven’t yet identified the two recovered bodies.

The landslide cut across a road through Ask, home to some 5,000 people, leaving a deep, crater-like ravine that cars could not pass.

Photos and video footage showed dramatic scenes of buildings hanging loose on the edge of the ravine, some 700 meters (2,300 feet) long and 300 meters (1,000 feet) wide.

At least nine buildings with over 30 apartments were destroyed.

The rescue operation was being hampered by the limited number of daylight hours, fears of further land erosion and the fragile ground on the site, which is unlikely to hold the weight of rescue equipment, including a heavy vehicle from the Norwegian military.

Over 1,000 people have been evacuated, and officials said up to 1,500 people may be moved from the area amid fears of further landslides.