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, at the end of the day on Thursday July 25. The search for potential victims continues 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 the 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 Blue. A “first landslide” occurred 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 Dauphine. The vice-president of the Isère departmental council responsible for roads, Bernard Perazio, does not “[s’]does not explain this phenomenon” facing the AFP.

Victims searched under the rubble

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 fell “there are walnut trees, there are no homes”.

For the time being, 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 it resumed this Friday morning. “At this stage, there is nothing to suggest that there are any potential victims. No missing persons have been reported” indicated the prefecture on the night of Thursday, July 25. “A flyover analysis [doit permettre] to assess the conditions for continuing the 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 as a safety measure, the authorities are asking residents not to go to the site of the landslide, especially since the RD1532 is closed to traffic for around 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 were published. “A mini mountain crossed the departmental road, we now need to know if there are people still underneath,” commented to France Bleu the mayor of La Rivière, Raymond Rolland, who also specified on Thursday evening that “the situation is not[était] not yet stabilized” and that “continuous blocks[ai]”ent to go down”.

Speaking to local radio, local residents described a kind of “earthquake” at the time of the landslide, “like the feeling of a fighter plane flying over us”. On the road, between 15 and 20 metres of earth are now stuck together. In addition to any motorists who may have been in the way at the wrong time, the authorities were also concerned Thursday evening about the quarry employees. The site manager was on site to make sure that everyone had left safely after the work day, around 4pm.