Village partially destroyed in Swiss glacier collapse / Photo: © AFP/File
-
Sabalenka roars back to make Berlin WTA semis
-
Europe swelters as more heat records set to tumble
-
Narvaez takes Swiss Tour third stage after 100km breakaway
-
'There's no soul': Tony Leung weighs in on AI in filmmaking
-
Europe swelters as temperature records tumble
-
From Versailles to a Swiss mountain: a week of dizzying Iran diplomacy
-
French mountain lodges worry over strained water supply
-
Coach tells S. Korea to move on fast with World Cup knockouts in reach
-
Heatwave hits more than one in two people in France
-
Henry strikes as New Zealand strengthen grip against England
-
Zverev sets up Fritz semi at Halle Open
-
England captain Stokes in action for Durham as Test recall looms
-
Clark stumbles but still leads by two at US Open
-
Moutet fined over x-rated Queen's Club rant
-
Ogura pulls off stunner to top Czech MotoGP practices
-
Outrage in Italy after Trump says Meloni 'begged' for photo op
-
Turkey bars public World Cup screening over university entrance exam
-
From birds to fish, how extreme heat causes wildlife to suffer
-
Ebola spreading 'fast' in DR Congo, warns WHO
-
Trapped on Everest for days, Nepali survivor recounts escape
-
The Sun may not engulf Earth after all, scientists say
-
Clark leads by three as US Open second round begins
-
Russia signals slower rate cuts amid high Ukraine war spending
-
Fritz gets revenge on Shelton to reach Halle semis
-
Henry strikes as New Zealand lead England by 100 runs in 2nd Test
-
Heatwave hits more than half of France's population
-
Online threats, insults fuel S.Africa's anti-foreigner hate
-
Former England keeper Earps agrees to join London City Lionesses
-
Clark completes first round with two-stroke US Open lead
-
Olympic hurdles medallist Bascou suspended for doping
-
Italian FM cancels US visit over reported Trump comments
-
Pegula sinks Keys to reach Berlin Open semis
-
Oil prices, shares steady after US-Iran talks postponed
-
Gaza ceasefire a 'deadly illusion': UNICEF
-
What did we learn from the hantavirus cruise ship scare?
-
S.Africa anti-migrant hate loses team African support at World Cup
-
Arsenal will start Premier League title defence against Coventry
-
European robotics start-ups go up against Chinese heavyweights
-
'Alter-Ego': An Italian hospital's little robot carer
-
Japan's men told to clean at home, not just the World Cup
-
French court confirms Moroccan football star Hakimi will stand trial for rape
-
South Korean leader says told Trump sanctions on North are 'ineffective'
-
Deadly Philippines quake turns seabed into shore
-
Stocks rally falters, oil rises as US-Iran talks postponed
-
S. Korean leader says he told Trump sanctions on North are 'ineffective'
-
Indonesia to capture last-known wild Bornean rhino for IVF
-
No vaccine, conflict, mistrust: Ebola's return to DR Congo
-
USA, Australia eye World Cup knockout rounds, Brazil in action
-
AI museum brings sights, sounds and smells of the rainforest
-
Iran to lodge complaint with FIFA over World Cup restrictions
Village partially destroyed in Swiss glacier collapse
A massive glacier collapse on Wednesday in southern Switzerland partially destroyed the small village of Blatten, which had been completely evacuated last week due to the impending danger, officials said.
Around 3:30 pm (1330 GMT), a huge collapse occurred on the Birch Glacier, emergency services in the Wallis region said.
Many homes in Blatten, normally home to 300 people, were destroyed, Jonas Jeitziner, deputy information officer for 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 showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountain slope and into the valley where the village is located. The debris reached the houses.
A significant increase in activity was observed on the glacier from Tuesday night and intensified during Wednesday.
The Alps mountain range in Europe has seen its glaciers retreat in recent years due to warming that most scientists attribute to climate change.
Swiss glaciers, severely impacted by climate change, melted as much in 2022 and 2023 as between 1960 and 1990, losing in total about 10 percent of their volume.
The amount of snow covering Switzerland's glaciers at the end of winter this year was 13 percent below the 2010-2020 average, a group of glacier monitoring experts said earlier in May.
A.Ammann--VB
