A massive glacier collapse triggered a devastating landslide in the Swiss Alps on Wednesday, burying most of the village of Blatten under ice, mud, and rock. Authorities report one person missing and widespread destruction.
A huge chunk of a glacier in the Swiss Alps broke off on Wednesday, causing a deluge of ice, mud, and rock that buried most of a mountain village that had been evacuated due to the risk of a rockslide, authorities said.
One person is currently missing, officials said.
Drone footage broadcast by Swiss national broadcaster SRF showed a vast plain of mud and soil completely covering part of the southwestern village of Blatten, the river running through it, and the wooded sides of the surrounding valley.
"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."
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.
"An unbelievable amount of material thundered down into the valley," said Matthias Ebener, a spokesperson for local authorities.
One person was missing, Ebener said. Officials gave no further details on the person during the press conference.
Officials said millions of cubic metres of rock and soil have tumbled down since Blatten was first evacuated this month, when part of the mountain behind the glacier began to crumble, sparking warnings it could bring the ice mass down with it.
A video shared widely on social media showed the dramatic moment when the glacier partially collapsed, creating a huge cloud that covered part of the mountain as rock and debris came cascading down toward the village.
Experts 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.
Christian Huggel, a professor of environment and climate at the University of Zurich, said while various factors were at play in Blatten, it was known that local permafrost had been affected by warmer temperatures in the Alps.
The loss of permafrost can negatively affect the stability of the mountain rock, which is why climate change had likely played a part in the deluge, Huggel said.
The extent of the damage to Blatten had no precedent in the Swiss Alps in the current or previous century, he added.
The rubble of shattered wooden buildings could be seen on the flanks of the huge mass of earth in the drone footage.
Buildings and infrastructure in Blatten, whose roughly 300 inhabitants were evacuated on May 19 after geologists identified the risk of an imminent avalanche of rock and ice from above, were battered by the rockslide, officials said.
SRF said houses were destroyed in the village nestled in the Loetschental Valley in southern Switzerland.
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter expressed her solidarity with the local population as emergency services warned people the area was hazardous and urged them to stay away, closing off the main road into the valley.
"It's terrible to lose your home," Keller-Sutter said on X.
Leaders of countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have agreed to hold coordinated population censuses around 2030. They took t...
Saudi Arabia has restored its vital East-West oil pipeline to near-full capacity, but escalating Houthi attacks on energy facilities, airports and ...
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 9 October 2026 with five key developments from the CIS summit in Turkmenistan....
Leaders of countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have agreed to hold coordinated population censuses around 2030. They took the decision at the CIS Council of Heads of State meeting in Awaza, Turkmenistan on Friday, media reported.
Russia struck Ukraine overnight in one of the biggest attacks of the conflict, killing at least 19 people, Kyiv's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Around 70 missiles were fired at Ukraine during the attack, as well as drones, the Ministry said.
The Saudi-led coalition says it has carried out a series of military operations against Houthi targets in Yemen after attacks on two Saudi airports left three people dead and dozens injured.
Azerbaijan and the five Central Asian states have signed two key documents at the 8th Consultative Meeting of Heads of State in Turkmenbashi, formalising a broader framework for regional cooperation in transport, trade, energy, digitalisation and security.
It started with classrooms. Too many students, not enough teachers, deteriorating buildings and growing anxiety over what comes after high school. But within weeks, a movement that began outside French lycées had spread across the country.
South African judge Navanethem “Navi” Pillay won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday “for her efforts to promote peace and international law,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.
U.S. federal immigration agents shot and wounded a man in a car with a five-year-old boy inside in New York City’s Bronx neighbourhood on Thursday, city officials, police and witnesses say.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sharply criticised the United States following a series of Russian attacks that killed more than 70 people over two days, arguing that Washington is not doing enough to help Kyiv counter Moscow's continued assault.
Britain and Israel have reached a temporary compromise over the future of the British Consulate General in East Jerusalem, easing a diplomatic dispute that had threatened to further strain relations between the two countries.
The United States has unveiled a new round of sanctions targeting Iran's energy exports, taking aim at vessels, companies and individuals accused of helping move Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and petrochemicals to overseas markets.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment