At least six people die in glacier collapse in Italian Dolomites

The glacier has been shrinking for years and recent high temperatures may have contributed to the collapse, an emergency services official said.

At least six people died and eight were injured after a chunk of glacier collapsed in the Italian Alps on Sunday, said Walter Milan, spokesman for the Italian National Corps alpine and speleological rescue.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">A deluge of snow, ice and rock on the Marmolada mountain group, the highest in the Dolomites, invaded a summit road popular, where a number of mountaineers had climbed, the emergency service for the Veneto region posted on Twitter.

Names and nationalities of the victims were not yet known, Milan said. Several helicopters were reportedly on site. Eighteen people were evacuated and emergency crews were checking parked cars to determine if anyone was still missing.

3LUG #Marmolada Ci sono 5 deceduti tra le persone travolte dal distacco del séracco. I feriti sono 8, di cui 2 risultano in condizioni gravi. 18 people che si trovano sopra l'area del crollo saranno evacuate da @cnsas_official pic.twitter.com/tKGM03IXco

— SUEM Veneto (@SUEM_Veneto) July 3, 2022

Mr. Milan said it was the biggest such accident on the mountain in decades. The high temperatures of recent days could have contributed to this by accelerating the melting of the ice, Milan said, adding that it was a very complex phenomenon with many factors at play.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0"> In recent days, Milan said, the mountain had experienced record high temperatures. The accident came as a heat wave scorched parts of Europe for several weeks.

The effects of global warming on the Marmolada glacier, known like the queen of the Dolomites, has been unfolding for years, with the glacier shrinking at a rapid pace.

Between 2004 and 2015, the volume of the glacier shrunk by 30% , according to a 2019 study by Italy's National Research Council and International Universities. If the trend continues, the glacier will disappear within the next 25 to 30 years, the research predicts.

A few days before the accident, Carlo Budel, the guardian of a lodge at the top of the glacier, posted a video of it on Facebook, saying the glacier was in poor condition. "Poor Marmolada Glacier," he wrote in the caption. "This year, this glacier is going to take such a beating."