Ten Still Missing after Norway Landslide

General view after a landslide hit a residential area in Ask village, Norway, Dec 30, 2020.
General view after a landslide hit a residential area in Ask village, Norway, Dec 30, 2020.
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Ten Still Missing after Norway Landslide

General view after a landslide hit a residential area in Ask village, Norway, Dec 30, 2020.
General view after a landslide hit a residential area in Ask village, Norway, Dec 30, 2020.

Rescue workers were still searching on Thursday for survivors from a landslide smashed into a residential area near the Norwegian capital, leaving 10 people unaccounted for, including two children, and 10 injured.

Work continued overnight after a whole hillside collapsed in Ask, 25 kilometers northeast of Oslo.

Homes were buried under mud and some houses were left teetering on the edge of a crater caused by the slide, with several falling over the edge as the day went on.

"It is important for me to stress that we are looking for survivors," chief of operations Roger Pettersen told reporters.

"Now there's daylight and that will help us in our work with better visibility," he said.

Police said one of the 10 people hurt had been seriously injured and was transferred to Oslo for treatment.

One-fifth of Ask's 5,000 population have been evacuated.

Prime Minister Erna Solberg visited the village on Wednesday and described the landslide as "one of the largest" the country had seen.

The authorities issued an appeal to people not to set off fireworks for New Year's Eve which could hinder the use of helicopters and drones equipped with thermal cameras.

The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate said the disaster was a "quick clay slide" of approximately 300 by 700 meters.



US Strikes against Iran Not Aimed at Regime Change, Pentagon Chief Says

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing at the Pentagon, after the US struck Iranian nuclear facilities, during the Israel-Iran conflict, in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 22, 2025 in this still image taken from handout video. Reuters TV/US Department of Defense/Handout via REUTERS
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing at the Pentagon, after the US struck Iranian nuclear facilities, during the Israel-Iran conflict, in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 22, 2025 in this still image taken from handout video. Reuters TV/US Department of Defense/Handout via REUTERS
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US Strikes against Iran Not Aimed at Regime Change, Pentagon Chief Says

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing at the Pentagon, after the US struck Iranian nuclear facilities, during the Israel-Iran conflict, in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 22, 2025 in this still image taken from handout video. Reuters TV/US Department of Defense/Handout via REUTERS
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing at the Pentagon, after the US struck Iranian nuclear facilities, during the Israel-Iran conflict, in Arlington, Virginia, US, June 22, 2025 in this still image taken from handout video. Reuters TV/US Department of Defense/Handout via REUTERS

The US military's strikes on Iran's nuclear sites were not a preamble to plans for regime change, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday, adding that private messages had been sent to Tehran encouraging them to negotiate.

Still, Hegseth warned Iran against following through with past threats of retaliation against the United States, and said US forces were postured to defend themselves, and take action if needed, Reuters reported.

"This mission was not and has not been about regime change," Hegseth told a reporters at the Pentagon. "The president authorized a precision operation to neutralize the threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear program."

The US strikes included 14 bunker-buster bombs, more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles and over 125 military aircraft, in an operation the top US general, General Dan Caine, said was named "Operation Midnight."

Caine said initial battle damage assessments indicated that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction, but he declined to speculate whether any Iranian nuclear capabilities might still be intact.

Caine said the US military had increased protection of troops in the region, including in Iraq and Syria.

"Our forces remain on high alert and are fully postured to respond to any Iranian retaliation or proxy attacks, which would be an incredibly poor choice," Caine said.