Landslide in Isère: victims under the rocks ? The astonishing images of the landslide

An impressive landslide occurred in Isère, near a quarry on the edge of the RD1532, late Thursday, July 25. Searches for potential victims continue this Friday.

The mountain has fallen. A landslide of several tens of thousands of cubic meters of rock was observed in Isère, on the edge of departmental road 1532, this Thursday, July 25 around 7 p.m. The images of the landslide, widely relayed on social networks, are chilling. The landslide occurred at the height of the La Rivière quarry, near Rovon, reports France Bleu. A “first “landslide” took place earlier in the afternoon according to local media. But if “some signs of destabilization” have been observed in the quarry in recent days, “nothing suggested a “major event like this” indicated the prefect of Isère, Louis Laugier, to the Dauphiné. The vice-president of the departmental council of Isère in charge of roads, Bernard Perazio, does not explain this phenomenon face &agrav; l'AFP. 

Victims sought under the ;combres

The landslide in Isère occurred on a very busy section of the RD1532 with the daily passage of “around 7,000 vehicles” according to Bernard Perazio. Enough to make local authorities fear the worst regarding a possible human toll. But the local official wants to be reassuring and explains to AFP that where the rocks have fallen “there are walnut trees, there is no habitation”.

For now, no victims have been found under the rocks. Around fifty firefighters were mobilized in the evening as well as five dog teams to search for possible victims. The search was suspended around 11 p.m. “due to the instability of the terrain”, but they resumed this Friday morning. “At this stage, there is nothing to suggest that there are any potential victims. No missing person has been “reported” indicated the prefecture on the night of Thursday, July 25. “A flyover analysis [should allow] to assess the conditions for continuing investigations in complete safety,” added the Isère prefecture. A crisis unit and emergency services were quickly sent to the scene. To facilitate the search and for safety reasons, the authorities are asking residents not to go to the site of the landslide, especially since the RD1532 is closed to traffic for about ten kilometers.

Landslide, “earthquake” in Isère… The images

On X, images of a massive section of the mountain breaking away and falling into the void have been published. “A mini mountain has crossed&eacute the departmental, we now need to know if there are people still underneath”, commented to France Bleu the mayor of La Riviere, Raymond Rolland, who also specified on Thursday evening that “the situation [was] not yet stabilized” and that “blocks continued to descend”.

On the local radio, local residents described a sort of “earthquake” at the time of the landslide, “like the feeling that a fighter plane was flying over us”. On the road, between 15 and 20 meters of earth are now stuck together. In addition to any motorists who may have been in the way at the wrong time, the authorities' concern extended Thursday evening to the quarry employees as well. The site manager was on site to ensure that everyone had left safely after the working day, around 4 p.m.