Several buildings swept away in Norwegian mudslide

OSLO -- A mudslide hit several houses and vacation homes in central Norway on Friday, sweeping some into the fjord below, police and rescue officials said. There were no reports of injuries.

Marit Dahl, spokeswoman for the Nord-Troendelag police district, said seven people were evacuated and that none of them was seriously injured.

She said there were no others reported missing in the mudslide in Namsos, about 330 miles north of Oslo. The evacuation "went very well," Dahl said.

Police spokesman Jostein Grimstad said rescue crews and helicopters were on the scene to double-check the area.

State radio network NRK reported that six houses and up to three cabins were caught in a slide that was about 200-300 yards wide and hit just before midday. It happened near a road construction site, and NRK said it could be related to blasting or excavation,

Damaged buildings lie at the edge of a fijord, following a mudslide near Namsos, Norway, Friday March 13, 2009. Several houses and cabins were destroyed in the mudslide, which happened near a road construction site.(AP Photo/Scanpix, Norway) ** NORWAY OUT**

Mudslides are frequent in parts of Norway as the ground thaws after the winter.