Search teams are currently searching by helicopter over the affected area.
It is certain that the hole occurred between the old and new E6 road in Stennungsund, north of Gothenburg.
It’s not clear why this happened, but there has been heavy rain recently in the area, explains Niklas Vogelqvist, duty manager of the Greater Gothenburg Rescue Service.
– An area approximately 500 meters in diameter was affected. “We are working hard,” police spokesman August Brandt says Saturday morning.
Emergency services were notified at 1.45pm on Saturday
Three minor injuries
The E6 north of Gothenburg is closed in both directions.
An unknown number of cars and a bus ended up in the hole, which is said to have taken about 150 meters of the E6 with it. Many industrial buildings are also said to have collapsed.
– Police officer on duty Fredrik Flyberg told the TT news agency that three wounded were taken to hospital.
They should have minor injuries, but they’re in shock, Flyberg says SVT.
The municipal administration in Stennongsund met in a crisis meeting on Saturday morning.
-We have four vehicles that we know ended up in the landslide area. There will be a bus and three smaller vehicles, says Daniel Svensmark, from the Greater Gothenburg Rescue Service Express. There may be several vehicles involved, he tells Göteborgs-Posten.
It will be difficult to reach the accident site because there is still a high risk of landslides.
I woke up to a shaking truck
He says that the truck driver, who was parked overnight in the affected industrial area, woke up to his car shaking today’s news.
– I saw the trees falling and the ground seemed to slide away. He told the newspaper that the hamburger restaurant was completely destroyed, and the house may have moved five metres.
Huge hole
Nearby buildings have been damaged, but it doesn’t have to be about homes. Aftonbladet newspaper wrote that a hamburger restaurant had been bombed.
Asking people to stay away from the area
The rescue service said further landslides could not be ruled out, and people were being asked to stay away from the area. According to police, the accident is expected to have “enormous” consequences on traffic for a long time to come.
– The state geotechnical institute must decide the size of the cordoned off area, says Flyberg of the Swedish police.
The road is important for long-distance transportation between Sweden and Norway. The conversion takes approximately 45 additional minutes.