Birch glacier collapse
Birch glacier collapse
High-altitude rockfalls, aided by melting permafrost, added weight to and destabilized a mountain glacier in the Swiss Alps that resulted in an avalanche of rocks and debris that buried the village of Blatten, Swizerland.
© KEYSTONE-SDA—POMONA MEDIA/Reuters
Transcript
The following video transcript was created using an automated translation tool. The translation may not be a perfect or exact replica of the original:
In Switzerland, a glacier collapse has buried parts of an already evacuated mountain village in the canton of Valais.
One person is currently missing, said a spokesman for the Valais authorities.
The trigger for the event on Wednesday was a landslide that had been going on for days.
The crumbling rock mass was deposited on the Birch Glacier.
Large parts of the glacier collapsed under the weight.
An avalanche of three million cubic meters of ice, debris and mud then thundered into the Lötschental and destroyed houses in Blatten.
An incredible amount of material thundered into the valley, explained an authority spokesman.
Buildings and infrastructure were severely affected by the rockslide.
Now this worst-case scenario has happened.
This means that the three million cubic blocks that went onto the glacier all came down with the glacier.
That's very, very rare.
We can't find an example in history, but everything has gone down now.
I am sure that we will have many friends who will help us to do what is in front of us, to rebuild the village and after a long night it will be tomorrow again.
Thanks.
Around 300 residents had already had to leave the village at the beginning of last week after geologists had identified beginning of last week after geologists had identified the danger of the impending rock and ice avalanche.
In Switzerland, a glacier collapse has buried parts of an already evacuated mountain village in the canton of Valais.
One person is currently missing, said a spokesman for the Valais authorities.
The trigger for the event on Wednesday was a landslide that had been going on for days.
The crumbling rock mass was deposited on the Birch Glacier.
Large parts of the glacier collapsed under the weight.
An avalanche of three million cubic meters of ice, debris and mud then thundered into the Lötschental and destroyed houses in Blatten.
An incredible amount of material thundered into the valley, explained an authority spokesman.
Buildings and infrastructure were severely affected by the rockslide.
Now this worst-case scenario has happened.
This means that the three million cubic blocks that went onto the glacier all came down with the glacier.
That's very, very rare.
We can't find an example in history, but everything has gone down now.
I am sure that we will have many friends who will help us to do what is in front of us, to rebuild the village and after a long night it will be tomorrow again.
Thanks.
Around 300 residents had already had to leave the village at the beginning of last week after geologists had identified beginning of last week after geologists had identified the danger of the impending rock and ice avalanche.