The sudden landslide that destroyed part of the European E6 route in Sweden on Saturday has left a key transport link in the region impassable for an extended period. Officials estimated Sunday that reconstruction would take several months. Eyewitnesses reported ‘surreal scenes’.
The police cordoned off the area and warned bystanders not to enter the area. Parts of the highway have collapsed near the small town of Stenungsund in western Sweden for reasons that are still unclear.
Cars fell over the edge
An area of approximately 700 by 200 meters was affected. Footage showed a long crack ripping through the area near a gas station and the roof of a fast food restaurant collapsing. Several cars fell over the edge and three people were slightly injured. According to previous findings, residential areas were not affected.
Experts started looking for the cause of the incident this weekend. It could be related to rainy days and the region’s fragile clay soil. Previous landslides in Sweden were often related to heavy rainfall and the nature of the soil.
The police started an investigation
The police have also started an investigation into work at a construction site in the area. Explosions took place there. It is still unclear whether there is a connection with the landslide.
“Unreal scenes”
Affected car and truck drivers reported surreal scenes. After finishing work at his restaurant, he turned onto the highway access road on his way home, restaurant owner Marko Mijatovic told Swedish radio station SVT. “After a while I just felt like the car was going to fly.” Shortly afterwards the car hurtled downwards. You couldn’t see the hole in the ground at all. “It just came out of nowhere,” he said.
„Truck half buried in the earth“
The truck driver Piotr Dietula, like several colleagues, had spent the night in his vehicle at the gas station. He reported that his truck had sunk halfway to the ground. He could only get out through the windows. At first he was just confused, but then he realized what had happened – then he was surprised that he was still alive.
The E6 runs thousands of kilometers in Scandinavia from the far north of the region across large parts of Norway to the southern Swedish port city of Trelleborg. Ferries to the Baltic Sea also sail from there to Rostock and Travemünde in Germany. Stenungsund is located almost 40 kilometers north of the city of Gothenburg in western Sweden. Traffic in the affected area is now being diverted via secondary roads.
Source: Krone
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