No one was injured, and no one is missing, after a large rock slide hit the popular Jektesanden hiking area in Lærdal on Thursday afternoon. But 20 students and two teachers ended up in the middle of the drama. Some of the children were also hit by pebbles from the landslide. Mark Brooks describes what he witnessed as “unbelievably terrifying”. – While the stones and blocks fell from the rock wall and into the sea, the children jumped between and howled and screamed, he says. – Dramatic Brooks and a colleague were in the area in connection with a lifeboat going ashore. On the other side of the fjord, they saw the children enjoying themselves with games and bonfires. – Then we suddenly hear a crack on the mountainside, and see a huge block come loose at a height of 200 metres, he says. He called 113 and set up a live stream so the emergency services could see the incident. – Some of the children hid under large stones, some by the fire, while others jumped out. It was dramatic, he says. – It is thousand-year luck that no one was injured. Raised the alarm The emergency services raised the alarm when they received a report of the incident just after 1 p.m. In the report, information was given about several children in the race area. – Based on that, we pressed the big button, and large resources were sent from both police, fire, health and the main rescue center sent a helicopter and sea resources to the city, says operations manager Dan Erik Johannessen at the West police district. Pupils hit by stones It was quickly determined that no one was directly hurt by the collapse. The race site itself is temporarily blocked off. Brooks believes 50-60 boulders hit the sea. – The whole lake boiled up and the spray stood. Then everything disappeared in a huge cloud of smoke, he says. – I was so sore in my knees that I had trouble staying upright. I was sure things had gone wrong, adds Brooks. No one is injured or missing, but the class came close to the slide that went over the hiking trail and into the lake. – They came so close that some had pebbles on them, says Svein Inge Harberg, head of the police in Sogn. Jektesanden is a popular hiking area along the lake that rents for day trip cabins in Lærdal. Photo: Jan Christian Jerving Harberg has not himself spoken to the pupils who have now been transported back to Lærdalsøyri school. There they are followed up by the school and the crisis team. – We canceled resources from helicopters and sea resources towards the city, as it was made clear that no one was missing or injured, says Johannessen. – No one needs to go in there to get to a house or cabin, so the police have blocked off the middle belt, so no one else goes in here, says Johannessen. – Then it will be up to Lærdal municipality to assess it as safe to reopen. The school: – A terrifying experience The municipal director in Lærdal municipality, Gunn Lerøy, confirms that a fifth-grader came close to falling. – No one is physically injured, but it has been a frightening experience. The pupils are gathered at the school, where psychosocial crisis teams are ready. – It is clear that with the sound of a crash and that you come quite close, it can be a frightening experience. Published 07.11.2024, at 13.46 Updated 07.11.2024, at 15.27
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