Rome— Most of the Alpine Glacier collapsed on Sunday afternoon, sliding down the hillsides of Italy. rice field. According to officials, ice, snow and rocks hit hikers on popular trails during peak hours, killing at least six people and injuring eight.
There could be about 10 missing persons, and civil protection official Gianpaolo Bottacin reportedly states in the online version of the Italian daily Corriere della Serra. However, Bottasin later said it was still impossible to provide state television with a solid number.
The glaciers of the Marmolada Mountains are the largest in the Dolomites Mountains in northeastern Italy, where people ski in the winter. However, in recent years, glaciers have melted rapidly.
Experts at the Italian State CNR Research Center, where the Institute for Polar Sciences is located, say glaciers will no longer exist in the next 25-30 years. And most of that volume is already gone. The Mediterranean coast, shared by Southern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, has been identified by UN experts as a "climate change hotspot" and can be affected by heat waves and water scarcity.
By Sunday evening, authorities were still working to find out how many hikers were in the area when the ice avalanche struck, and provided casualties to the national alpine. Rescue squad spokesman Walter Milano said.
Rescuers are part of a check to determine how many people are not explained As I was checking the license plate of the parking lot. Because of the process, which can take hours, Milan told the Associated Press by phone.
"We saw the dead (people), huge ice cubes, and rock masses," exhausted rescuer Luigi Felissetti told Italian state television.
The nationality and age of the dead were not immediately known, Milan said. Of the eight hospitalized survivors, two were in serious condition, officials said. .. said.
Earlier, the National Alpine and Cave Rescue Team tweeted that at least five helicopters and rescue dogs were involved in the search for the area involved at the summit of Marmorada.
Temporarily search for victims or missing persons while rescue dogs are assessing the risk of more glacier collapses after rescue dogs perform rescue missions with search dogs. Was canceled, he told state television.
Rescue teams said the ice blocks continued to crumble. In the evening, it started to rain.
A SUEM dispatch service based in the nearby Veneto area said 18 people above the ice-hit area would be evacuated by the Alpine rescue team.
However, Milan said he might be able to get off some of the slopes himself, including using the peak cable car.
According to SUEM, the avalanche consisted of "snow, ice, and rocks pouring down." The detached part is known as Serak, or the apex of ice.
At a height of about 3,300 meters (about 11,000 feet), Marmolada is the highest peak in the eastern Dolomites and offers spectacular views of other Alpine peaks.
The Alpine Rescue Service tweeted that the segment was interrupted "usually along the itinerary used to reach its peak" near Puntarokka (Rockpoint).
I didn't immediately know what caused the ice to collapse and rush down the slopes of the mountaintop. However, the heat wave that hit Italy after late June could be a factor.
"Recent temperatures have clearly affected the partial collapse of the glacier," President Maurizio Fugatti of Trent, who borders Marmolada, told Sky TG24 news.
However, Milan emphasized that the high fever that abnormally surged above 10 C (50 F) at the recent peak of Marmolada was the only possible cause of Sunday's tragedy.
"There are so many factors that could be involved," Milan said. Avalanches are generally unpredictable, and the effects of heat on glaciers are "more unpredictable," he said.
According to the rescue team, the injured were taken to several hospitals in the Trentino Alto Adige and Veneto areas.
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