The oldest daughter was dressed and had started the fire. The father was putting on his shoes and his wife was awake and dressed; while they were doing that the daughter went out of the house and looked out of the outer door and onto the grounds, but came back in quickly and said that there was something strange with the flagpole, it was leaning quite a bit. The father went out and saw the same thing and felt that there was danger on the way, and told his daughter about it while he ran to the other building to warn the ones who were there. Already the youngest son (Ludvig) and another person had come out and the three of them saved themselves by running fast. When they had run a distance away and looked back, both the two houses and the barn had disappeared into the depths of the river, and the most terrible of all was that nine people went with the buildings and were buried in the clay.

Lars Jacobsen, who had only a few clothes on, went to another house by the river a short distance up from the Sandbakken place, and got the people there to tell the news about the accident to the nearest farm on the other side of the river. His son and another person that did not have time to put clothes on had to run almost hunched over to the nearest farm in the very low temperature.

When people learned what had happened, in a hurry they went to the place of the accident and when the first of them got there it was still so dark that nothing could be undertaken of any consequence. Because the clay mass was so soft, it was almost impossible to walk on before it solidified somewhat on the outside from the freezing temperatures. Three of the accident victims, a mother and two small boys, one age 10 and the other 8 were found alive. (Elive Ingebrigtsdatter Kjaereng, sons Sigurd Magne, and Ingebrigt Arnold), They had been laying side by side in the awful clay and talked with each other as long as they were able to. When they were found, it was only the oldest boy who was conscious. When he saw the man that saved him, who he knew, he laughed and said "It is really good that you came now". The ones that were found had to be brought up over the steep river bank, and it was quite remarkable that it was possible to do it. In the meantime, the neighbors did not have the expectation that all three would live. No sooner had they reached the Lamo farm that was the nearest that the mother died. One only saw a couple of small reflexes around her mouth as the last sign of life. The boys have recovered well and it is hoped that in time they will be fully recovered. Poor children, what they have been through!

Doctor Skoeyen, who came, did everything to bring the blood into circulation into their frozen limbs and did succeed. Before the help came, the biggest of these boys had gotten himself loose from the clay and also helped his brother get loose, who he then took and put on his lap until he froze stiff and leaned over to the mother who despite all efforts did not get one of her feet out of the clay and had to lay there as she was until she was pulled out. Her smallest child who was just three weeks old was not to be found. The mother's strength was almost gone when the help arrived. It is believed that she had been bleeding on account of the great effort to get loose. Of the others that slid away with the houses, two were found the same day and it was Lars Jacobsen's oldest daughter (Lorentse) and an unknown older man from Skoogen in Lenvik who was visiting Sandbakken that night. He had been offered a room on another farm but he couldn't be persuaded to stay there. That evening he wanted to visit Lars Jacobsen and then be ready to go to a funeral on the Storbakken church farm. But it so happened that he himself was carried away from there in a casket.

The day after, Lars Jacobsen's wife's (Dorthea Knutsdatter Setren) body was found; she was standing almost straight up and down in the clay. They were poking with a rod down into the soft clay and then by digging, the body was found. Still there are three that have not been found, the oldest son Jacob, and the youngest daughter Magne, and the baby.

The animals were saved from the barn. The horse was found alive under the fallen barn but it was not possible to get it up out of the deep hole and so he was killed. Some of the hay was saved, but a lot is left. The slide reached just to the barn building so at any moment one can expect that it will drop into the depth.

The outside food storage house went yesterday. It looks like still a lot can slide out. The clay is quite soft and floats away like thick soup. The clay mass has filled more than half of the Malselv River outside of Sandbakken. It is at the same time both an awesome and terrible scene. What has happened here is something similar to what happened in the valley of Verdahl a few years ago, except less spread out. It is in all truthfulness a shaking experience that we have witnessed here. Seven people have been pulled away from us in the wink of an eye while not fearing any danger. They did not know anything until they were buried in the cold clay. Through such occurances, God speaks loudly to us people!