Man missing after glacier in Switzerland collapses and destroys village
The landslide sent plumes of dust into the sky and coated with mud nearly all of an Alpine village that authorities had evacuated earlier this month as a precaution.
State councilor Stephane Ganzer told Radio Television Suisse that 90% of the village was destroyed.
The Cantonal Police of Valais said that a search and rescue operation was under way for the man, whose name has not been made public, and it involved a drone with a thermal camera.
The avalanche one day after the collapse of the Birch Glacier (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)
The regional government said in a statement that a large chunk of the Birch Glacier above the village had broken off, causing the landslide, which also buried the nearby Lonza River bed, raising the possibility of dammed water flows.
Video on social media and Swiss television showed that the mudslide near Blatten, in the southern Lotschental valley, partially submerged homes and other buildings under a mass of sludge.
In recent days, authorities had ordered the evacuation of about 300 people, as well as all livestock, from the village amid fears that the 52 million-cubic foot glacier was at risk of collapse.
Swiss glaciologists have repeatedly expressed concerns about a thaw in recent years – attributed in large part to climate change – that has accelerated the retreat of glaciers in Switzerland.
The landlocked Alpine country has the most glaciers of any country in Europe, and saw 4% of its total glacier volume disappear in 2023. That was the second-biggest decline in a single year after a 6% drop in 2022.
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Satellite images show Swiss village wiped out by glacier collapse
New terrifying satellite images have revealed how a tiny Swiss village was completely wiped out by a massive glacier collapse. The remote Alpine village of Blatten was flattened after an avalanche of rock, mud and ice was sent crashing down into the valley. Once home to around 300 people, it now lies buried beneath a vast expanse of debris after the Birch Glacier broke off on Wednesday afternoon. Authorities say 90 per cent of the village has been destroyed. New satellite pictures reveal the true scale of the disaster, showing where homes, farmland and roads once stood, now completely smothered by mud and rubble. The river Lonza, which runs through the valley, has been blocked by the landslide, which had raised fears of further flooding. But as reconnaissance flights and inspections continued, authorities said water from the newly formed lake, which has been slowly submerging the remaining houses in the obliterated village of Blatten, was beginning to find its way over, through and around the blockage. 'This development is positive, but we remain cautious,' said Stephane Ganzer, head of the regional security department. 'The risk remains, even if it is diminishing,' he told a press conference, adding that 'no evacuations are planned' in the villages downstream in the Lötschental valley, one of the most picturesque regions in southern Switzerland. The outflow "makes us optimistic and suggests that the water is finding a good path", explained Christian Studer of the Wallis canton's Natural Hazards Service. However, work to pump water from the lake has still not begun as the ground remains too unstable, particularly on the mountainside. One 64-year-old man is still missing. He was believed to be in the area at the time. Switzerland's president has pledged support for those forced to flee the Alpine village of Blatten, telling evacuees they are 'not alone' after a devastating glacier-triggered landslide wiped out homes and businesses. Karin Keller-Sutter made the comments on Friday after surveying the destruction by helicopter. She said the government was now working to calculate ways to help those affected by the disaster. 'The force with which the mountain here wiped out an entire village is indescribable,' said Keller-Sutter. 'I'd like to tell you all that you're not alone. The whole of Switzerland is with you — and not just (people) in Switzerland.' Officials have limited access to the area and warned that huge deposits of debris, stacked tens of metres high across a 2-kilometre stretch of the valley, have blocked the Lonza River and formed a new lake. The future course of the water remains uncertain. 'Unfortunately, the danger has not yet been averted,' Keller-Sutter added. Separate drone footage shown by national broadcaster SRF showed a vast plain of mud and soil completely covering part of the village and the river running through it. At around 3:30pm local time, a huge chunk of the Birch glacier broke off, according to emergency services in the Wallis region. Local police said the missing 64-year-old man was a local resident who was in the area at the time of the incident. A search and rescue operation was launched, with three specialists airlifted to the scene, while a drone with a thermal imaging camera was also used. 'Despite significant efforts, the man has still not been found,' police said. The village, including residents and a herd of 52 cows, had mostly been evacuated this week amid fears the 52mn cubic ft glacier was days away from collapse. 'We've lost our village,' Matthias Bellwald, the mayor of Blatten told a press conference after the slide. 'The village is under rubble. We will rebuild.' The glacier collapse had been expected for several days, and there have been no reports of injuries. 'An unbelievable amount of material thundered down into the valley,' said Matthias Ebener, a spokesperson for local authorities in the southwestern canton of Valais. Stephane Ganzer, an official in the canton of Valais where Blatten is located, told Swiss media that about 90% of the village was covered by the landslide. 'it's a major catastrophe that has happened here in Blatten,' he said, adding: 'There's a risk that the situation could get worse,' alluding to the blocked river. He said the army had been mobilised after earlier indications that the movement of the glacier was accelerating. Experts consulted by Reuters said it was difficult to assess the extent to which rising temperatures spurred by climate change had triggered the collapse because of the role the crumbling mountainside had played.
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