Glacier collapsed – parts of alpine village buried

Glaciers

TT

Updated 22.25 | Published 18.05

The collapsed glacier dragged large amounts of ice, rock, snow and water down into the valley. Photo: Jean-Christophe Bott/AP/TT

The small village of Blatten in central Switzerland has been partially destroyed by a collapsed glacier.

The collapse was expected and the village's 300 residents had previously been evacuated.

Videos on social media show how enormous masses of ice and rock are rushing down a mountainside towards the adjacent valley where the village is located.

Pictures show how parts of the building have been buried under the masses.

The 300 residents were evacuated last week. The Birsch glacier in the mountains above the Lötschental has been moving a few meters a day towards the valley. On Tuesday evening, increased movements were observed and at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, a giant collapse occurred.

The glacier's slide down the valley is due to its decreasing surface area. Analyses show that it has lost large volumes since July last year alone, at one point 101 meters deep. 

Switzerland's glaciers, heavily affected by climate change, melted as much between 2022 and 2023 as between 1960 and 1990.