OSLO (AFP) — Hopes were fading Wednesday of finding five people alive after a six-story apartment building collapsed in the western Norwegian town of Aalesund in a possible rockslide, police said.
"The chances of finding any survivors are minimal," Kjell Kvernseth, a police official in charge of the rescue operation, told AFP by telephone from the scene.
The modern building, built into the hillside in 2003, collapsed around 3:30 am (0230 GMT) Wednesday with its lower levels caving in, probably caused by a rockslide.
Fifteen residents were evacuated from the building.
"Two are slightly injured, the others are unharmed," a local police official, Magne Tjoennoey, said.
The collapse caused a leak in a propane gas tank in the building's basement, as well as a blaze that complicated the rescue effort.
"The fire, the risk of explosion from the gas tank, possible rockslides and the risk that the entire building could collapse mean we are not able to enter the building at the moment," Tjoennoey said.
Police said it was too early to determine the exact cause of the accident but said a rockslide was a likely explanation.
That theory was supported by the presence of rocks at the foot of the building and the fact that the two lowest floors had completely caved in.
According to eyewitnesses, the building shifted "five or six meters" (yards).
Neighbours told media they were woken by a loud noise and trembling said they thought it was an earthquake or a roof that had caved in under heavy snow.
Several hours after the accident, Norwegian television footage showed images of the building's mangled wreckage, with debris and twisted balconies hanging loosely as thick plumes of smoke rose from inside.
Firemen could be seen battling the flames from a safe distance.
"The chances of finding survivors are fading but we are hanging on to the slim hope that somebody may be in a room at the back of the building," Kvernseth said.
Neighbouring buildings and a daycare centre were evacuated, while geologists were called to the scene to assess the risk of further rockslides.
Sniffer dogs and security teams were also rushed to the site to help find survivors once conditions permit.
According to Norwegian news agency NTB, the architects who designed the building lived in the top-floor apartment and were unharmed in the accident.
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