Målselv landslide road collapse Troms Norway, Digi Mart USA News (Målselv, Troms, Norway): Bengt Rognmo, 63, jumped out of his car and ran to safety after soil masses carried away part of a road beneath his vehicle. He told VG that he feared more material would slide out and did not want to stay near the car.
On Monday morning, Rognmo drove his wife to her workplace at Andslimoen in Målselv municipality in Troms. When they passed Fredriksberg around 7 a.m., County Road 854 was intact.
On the return trip, part of the road had suddenly disappeared.
Rognmo said the hole stretched from the guardrail into the roadway. His car ended up against the guardrail, with two wheels hanging over the slide area.
Local newspaper Nye Troms was the first to report the landslide. Municipal director Jan-Hugo Sørensen told NRK that geologists have confirmed quick clay in the area and that there is a risk of a larger slide.
The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) is monitoring the situation.
Rognmo grew up about five kilometers from the slide area and knows the location well. He said he had feared something like this would happen because he knew there was clay in the ground there.
After reaching safety, Rognmo said he decided to return to photograph the scene. Shortly afterward, more soil slid away.
Rognmo estimated that it is about ten meters from the car down to the bottom of the hole. He said he feared the car would be lost into the slide.
A towing vehicle reached the scene, but according to Rognmo, the recovery crew was not allowed to approach the car. If the car does not slide further, it could remain in place for two to three days while the situation is assessed.
County Road 854 is closed in both directions for the week and will likely remain closed into next week. The municipality has activated a crisis team.
One residence and two leisure homes near the slide site have been evacuated. According to NRK, no one was in the leisure homes, while one person was evacuated from the residence.
The municipality and Troms County Municipality will make a new assessment of the closed road no earlier than Thursday. The slide also affects school transport and home services in the area, according to Målselv municipality.
