A major landslide occurred in Isère near Rovon not far from a departmental road, a crisis unit set up

The landslide occurred around 7 p.m. Thursday, on the edge of the Vercors massif, reports France Bleu Isère.

A major landslide occurred on Thursday, July 25, in the town of La Rivière, near Rovon to the west of Grenoble in Isère, not far from a departmental road, reports France Bleu Isère. The landslide occurred around 7 p.m. at the La Rivière quarry, near the departmental road 1532, on the edge of the Vercors massif.

The search for people under the rubble has been suspended, the Isère prefecture said in a press release published Thursday evening after 11 p.m. “Given the instability of the terrain and the risk of further accidents in the dark, the search has been suspended.”specifies the prefecture. “At this stage of the search, there is nothing to suggest that there are any potential victims. No missing persons have been reported.” The search will resume on Friday morning.”after an assessment of residual geological risks”.

According to France Bleu Isère, a first landslide occurred early Thursday afternoon, then a second very significant one around 7 p.m. According to some rescuers who went to the scene, “The pile of rubble reaches 20 metres in places” and represent thousands of cubic meters of earth. The affected road is cut for at least 300 meters. Geologists are trying to understand where the movements that led to the landslide came from.

“It’s a mini mountain that crossed the departmental road”testifies the mayor of La Rivière Raymond Rolland. The departmental road 1532, which joins Valence, “is very borrowed”, emphasizes the mayor. There is no housing in this sector, specifies the elected official.

In the images obtained by France Bleu Isère, we can see an entire section of the mountain falling away. Electricity has been cut in several districts of the communes of Saint-Gervais and Vinay, according to the Isère prefecture. The D1532 is cut at the junctions of the RD45 to the north, at Saint-Quentin-sur-Isère, and the RD518 to the south, at Saint-Romans.

The Isère Sdis has mobilized around fifty firefighters and five dog teams are present on site to search for potential victims, the prefecture adds. The Mountain Terrain Restoration (RTM) services are also on site. It is not yet known if there are any injuries. The manager of the La Rivière quarry is also on the scene of the disaster this Thursday evening. He must ensure that the company’s employees have left the scene around 4 p.m. on Thursday. The Isère prefecture has set up a crisis unit and is asking people to avoid the area.