Rescue workers continue their efforts on the site of a major landslide in Ask,

Norway, Monday. (AP-Yonhap)

Norwegian officials insisted Monday that there was "still hope" in finding survivors

in air pockets five days after a landslide killed at least seven people as it carried

away homes in a village north of the capital. Three people are still missing.

Police spokesman Roger Pettersen said search efforts in the landslide-hit village of

Ask,

25 kilometers (16 miles) northeast of Oslo, are still considered "a rescue operation."

But only bodies have been found in the last few days.

The region's below-freezing temperatures are "working against us, but we have been

very clear in our advice to the (rescuers) that as long as there are cavities where the

missing may have stayed, it is possible to survive," said Dr. Halvard Stave, who taking

part in the rescue operation.
 

Temperatures in Ask were -8 degrees Celsius (17.6 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday.

"I would still describe the situation as very unreal," Anders Oestensen, the mayor of

Gjerdrum municipality, where Ask is located.

Search teams patrolled with dogs as helicopters and drones with heat-detecting

cameras flew over the ravaged hillside in Ask, a village of 5,000 that was hit by the

worst landslide in modern Norwegian history. At least 1,000 people were evacuated.

The landslide early Wednesday cut across a road through Ask, leaving a deep,

crater-like ravine. Some buildings ae now hanging on the edge of the ravine, which

grew to be 700 meters (2,300 feet) long and 300 meters (1,000 feet) wide. At least

nine buildings with over 30 apartments were destroyed.

"This is completely terrible," King Harald V said after the Norwegian royals visited the

landslide site on Sunday.

The limited number of daylight hours in Norway at this time of year and fears of

further erosion have hampered rescue operations. The ground is fragile at the site

and unable to hold the weight of heavy rescue equipment.

The exact cause of the accident is not yet known but the area is known for having a

lot of quick clay, a material that can change from solid to liquid form. Experts said

the quick clay, combined with excessive precipitation and damp winter weather,

may have contributed to the landslide.

In 2005, Norwegian authorities warned people not to construct residential buildings

in the area saying it was "a high risk zone" for landslides, but houses were eventually

built there later in the decade. (AP)

Words in This story

ravage-to cause great damage to something:

landslide-a mass of rock and earth moving suddenly and quickly down a steep slope

erosion-the fact of soil, stone, etc. being gradually damaged and removed by the 

waves, rain, or wind

Comprehension Quiz

What may have contributed to the landslide?