With brutal thunder, masses of ice, snow and rocks slide from a glacier in northern Italy into the valley. They drag mountaineers with them, some to their deaths. The huge glacier slide on the Marmolada, the maximum mountain in the Dolomites, claimed at minimum six life on Sunday.

According to regional president Maurizio Fugatti, up to 14 other alpinists ended up wounded, a person of them critically. A lot more victims had been feared. Very little was at first identified about the nationality.

A quantity of cell cellphone films showed how the avalanche fell around the rock faces of the massif in Tal. She also plowed down 1 of the principal entry routes to the 3,343-meter mountain, which showcased several rope teams. At least two were being strike. A spokesman for the Italian mountain rescue provider explained to the German Press Agency that it was in the beginning unclear whether there had been personal mountaineers at the scene of the incident in addition to the rope groups.

All mountain rescuers in the region from the Veneto and Trentino-South Tyrol areas were being alerted. They flew five helicopters up the mountain and recovered the lifeless and injured. Some canine teams were being made use of to research for other victims.

Having said that, the look for and rescue teams have been withdrawn again on Sunday night due to the fact there was a chance that components of the glacier could fall off yet again. The helicopters flew on and also brought individuals folks who have been stranded previously mentioned the incident internet site into the valley. There, primarily based on the cars in the parking heaps, it was also checked who could even now be under the avalanche.

“Worst probable time and day”

Carlo Budel, the host of the Capanna Punta Penia refuge, spoke in an Instagram video clip of the “worst possible time and working day on which the chunk could arrive loose”.

Soon right after midday, numerous mountaineers have been out and about on the well-known massif on a summery Sunday. Budel questioned all alpinists not to come to the Marmolada until finally even further notice. “Stay as considerably away from this glacier as doable,” warned the innkeeper.

“We read a loud noise, common of a landslide,” stated an eyewitness to the Ansa news agency. “After that, we saw an avalanche of snow and ice tumble in direction of the valley at large pace and we realized some thing bad experienced took place.”

Mountain rescuer Luigi Felicetti documented: “When we arrived on internet site, we were being presented with an remarkable picture. There were blocks of ice and big stones all over the place. We then started hunting for the folks.”

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Primary Minister Mario Draghi expressed his condolences to the victims and their people in the evening and announced that he would be kept up to day by civil protection and regional politicians.

There was in the beginning no official facts on the induce of the accident – even so, everything signifies that the superior temperatures of the earlier few days, weeks and months are likely to perform a function. According to media studies, a record worth of ten degrees was calculated on the summit of the mountain on Saturday.

“I’ve never ever seen just about anything like it on the Marmolada. It wasn’t a standard avalanche like in wintertime,” stated a mountain rescuer. He in contrast the incident to a developing and spoke of a “structural failure”. Italy registered considerably much less precipitation than common past wintertime, and several glaciers now absence snow to guard them from the sun and the heat temperatures. (dpa)