A large landslide has swept a number of houses into the sea in Arctic Norway.

Jan Egil Bakkedal said he filmed the powerful landslide near the town of Alta that pushed eight houses into the sea.

He said: “I ran for my life” into surrounding hills, and saw that one of the houses, which he owns, was washed away in the landslide.

Local police told Norwegian news agency NTB that the landslide was between 2,145-2,640 feet wide and up to 132 feet high.

Police spokesman Torfinn Halvari said a car was swept away in the landslide, but no one was injured.

Norway Landslide
The aftermath of the landslide (Hanne Larsen/AP)

A dog that ended up in the sea was able to swim back to land and is safe, he said.

Several minor landslides followed, and nearby houses were temporarily evacuated.

The far end of the cape where the landslide occurred was closed off with Alta mayor Monica Nielsen saying that “the extent of the damage is considerable, and there’s a lot of debris”.

Work was under way to ensure that the rubble does not end up in shipping lanes.