Swiss glacier collapse destroys parts of village
A massive glacier has collapsed in southern Switzerland, partly destroying the small village of Blatten, which had been evacuated recently because of the impending danger.
At about 3.30pm (1330 GMT), a huge collapse occurred on the Birch glacier, emergency services in the Wallis region said.
Numerous homes in Blatten, normally home to 300 people, were destroyed, Jonas Jeitziner, at the regional emergency management service, told Switzerland's Keystone-ATS domestic news agency.
The glacier collapse had been expected for several days.
Footage posted on YouTube shows a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountain and into the valley where the village is located. The debris reached the houses.
There had been a significant increase in activity on the glacier on Tuesday night, which intensified on Wednesday.
Glaciers have retreated in recent years in the Alps due to warming that most scientists attribute to the climate crisis.
Swiss glaciers melted as much in 2022-23 as in 1960-90, losing about 10% of their total volume.
Snow covering Switzerland's glaciers at the end of winter this year was 13% below the 2010-20 average, according to a glacier experts.
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