Photos and videos showed a 500-meter-wide hole opening in the E6 highway, which connects southern Sweden with Norway, not far from Sweden’s second-largest city, Gothenburg.
Police said at least four cars and a bus slid off the road and were damaged, with three people hospitalized.
Several buildings and facilities were damaged, including a fast food restaurant.
Swedish emergency services received a report at 1:45 a.m. local time (12:45 a.m. in Lisbon) that a substantial part of the E6 in Stenungsund had collapsed, police spokesman August Brandt told Swedish public broadcaster SVT.
Emergency services are still searching with dogs and specially trained personnel to ensure that no people become trapped among the rubble.
The cause of the landslide has yet to be determined.
Swedish media stated that the area was the scene of major construction activities, including blasting and excavation work, and also highlighted the fact that a lot of rain has fallen in recent days.
According to Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, images taken by a ‘drone’ (flying device controlled remotely) showed that a crack had appeared in the E6 after the start of construction of an industrial estate.
The Swedish police have started a preliminary investigation.
Source: DN
