Norway mountain finally crumbles, no injuries or damage

Smoke seen rising from the hillside after parts of the unstable mountain Veslemannen collapsed late in the evening in the Rauma municipality, some 400km north-west of Oslo on Sept 5, 2019. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

COPENHAGEN (AP) - The 50m-tall summit of southern Norway's Veslemannen mountain has crumbled and triggered a long-anticipated landslide that caused no injuries or damage.

Lars Harald Blikra of Norway's Water Resources and Energy Directorate told Norwegian broadcaster NRK "it's fantastic to know that the landslide is finally over", saying they had been waiting for it "for so many years".

Heavy rain caused late Thursday's (Sept 5) landslides in the Mannen mountain range. Rockslide risks there have been reported since 2014, leading the authorities to issue alerts for the area.

On Aug 30, it was again raised to its highest and, as a precaution, a nearby train line was closed and 11 people were evacuated for the 16th time.

The scale of the landslide was not immediately known.

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