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Apartment Collapse and Fire In Norway

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Updated….scroll down  

AROUND 3:30 AM THIS MORNING IN THE NORWEGIAN coastal town of Aalesund, 220 miles NW of Oslo, a rockslide struck and destroyed a 6-story apartment building.

[photopress:norway_a_ap.jpg,full,centered]
AP photo

The structure was built partly into a hillside and when the rocks came down they collapsed the bottom floors of the building.  Five people are missing and believed to have been killed while 15 others have been taken to hospitals with injuries.  The entire building was moved about 20 feet off of its foundations.

As the firefighters arrived, fires began to break out in the building.  The instability of the building prevented them from getting to all the fires to extinguish them.  Compounding the problem is an underground 3-ton propane tank that might have been damaged during the event.

The apartment block was built in 2003 and an urban search and rescue team is being sent to the site.  The architects who designed the building live on the top floor, but were unhurt.
update:  Aftenposten has an interview with the builder (in English) HERE.

An early Associated Press report is HERE.
The AFP also has an early STORY.

This is an ongoing event and will be updated during the day.

[photopress:norway_b_arnfinn_mauren.jpg,full,centered]
Photo by Arnfinn Mauren

Update:  Four hours after the initial rockslide, a second slide occurred sending more rocks into the site.  Leaking propane continues to be a concern and everybody has been evacuated beyond a 200-meter perimeter.

Rescuers are hoping that they will be able to send search dogs into the debris.  If they get a “hit” they will deploy a search team to that location.  More HERE.

[photopress:norway_c_arnfinn_mauren.jpg,full,centered]
Aftenposten / Mauren

Update, 2:45 pm:
A third landslide hit the building.  Shortly after, the leaking propane tank started burning.  The FD is taking the position of waiting for it to burn itself out before attempting entry into the rubble to search for the five missing occupants.  The 140-cubic-foot tank could burn for hours, if not days.

[photopress:norway_d_reuters_1.jpg,full,centered]
This aerial view from Reuters shows the wrecked
building in front of the landslide site.

[photopress:norway_e_reut.jpg,full,centered]
The fire from the propane tank is consuming the building.
(Reuters)

Posted by on March 26, 2008 • Filed under: fire, rescue
  • http://sciencenotes.blogspot.com/ Monado

    Wow, what a mess. I read that there was a known fault in the cliff.

  • http://sciencenotes.blogspot.com Monado

    Wow, what a mess. I read that there was a known fault in the cliff.

  • Pingback: Ålesund landslide and fire « Science Notes

  • Morgan

    it’s awful that a geological survey PRIOR to the building of this complex stated it would fail sometime in the future but the government issued the build permit.

    the worse part is that the survivors that were buried died needlessly because the rescue personal were COWARDS and wouldn’t vent gases and were afraid of being injured themselve.

    tell that to the families of the hundreds of 1st emergency personal the died in the world trade center destruction.

    those emergency personal in Ålesund are COWARDS and should be run out the country.

  • Morgan

    it’s awful that a geological survey PRIOR to the building of this complex stated it would fail sometime in the future but the government issued the build permit.

    the worse part is that the survivors that were buried died needlessly because the rescue personal were COWARDS and wouldn’t vent gases and were afraid of being injured themselve.

    tell that to the families of the hundreds of 1st emergency personal the died in the world trade center destruction.

    those emergency personal in Ålesund are COWARDS and should be run out the country.