Swiss glacier collapse destroys parts of village

A massive glacier has collapsed in southern Switzerland, partly destroying the small village of Blatten, which had been evacuated recently because of the impending danger.

At about 3.30pm local time, a huge collapse occurred on the Birch glacier, emergency services in the Wallis region said.

Numerous homes in Blatten, normally home to 300 people, were destroyed, Jonas Jeitziner, of the regional emergency management service, told Switzerland’s Keystone-ATS domestic news agency.

The glacier collapse had been expected for several days.

A landslide above Blatten on 18 May had prompted the evacuation order. Photograph: Cyril Zingaro/AP

Empty homes in Blatten before the avalanche struck on Wednesday. Photograph: Cyril Zingaro/EPA

Geologists had identified the risk of an imminent avalanche of rock and ice. Photograph: Cyril Zingaro/EPA

People watch the deluge. Photograph: Jean-Christophe Bott/EPA

Footage posted on YouTube showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountain and into the valley where the village is located. The debris reached the houses.

There had been a significant increase in activity on the glacier on Tuesday night, which intensified on Wednesday.

Glaciers in the Alps have retreated in recent years due to warming that most scientists attribute to the climate crisis.

Swiss glaciers melted as much in 2022-23 as in 1960-90, losing about 10% of their total volume.

The amount of snow covering Switzerland’s glaciers at the end of winter this year was 13% below the 2010-20 average, according to glacier experts.