Rescue workers recovered three bodies from the remains of a landslide in the Norwegian village of Ask, and are still looking for seven missing people, officials said Saturday.
The landslide, said to be the worst in the country’s history, occurred on Wednesday, destroying multiple 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 capable of detecting body heat under the snow.
“Medically you can survive for several days if you have air,” police chief Ida Melbo Oeystese told reporters at a news conference.
Officials had not identified the three bodies on Saturday afternoon. The first was discovered on Friday and two were recovered on Saturday.
The limited daylight hours and unstable ground at the rescue site have put the rescue efforts to the test.
The exact cause of the landslide has not been disclosed, but authorities expect that excessive rain may have contributed in recent weeks.
“There has not been a rapid landslide of this magnitude in Norway since 1893,” Toril Hofshagen, Norway’s directorate for water resources and energy, said Saturday.