An avalanche of ice, snow and rocks reached a rope of climbers who were ascending a peak in the vicinity of Marmolada
At least 6 dead, 9 injured and 16 missing left the detachment this Sunday of a large ice sheet from the Marmolada glacier, a mountain in the Dolomites chain located between the Veneto and Trentino Alto Adige regions, northeast of Italy. The tragedy is linked to the effects of the climate emergency, since last Saturday a record temperature of 10 degrees was reached at the Marmolada summit.
“It is an unimaginable disaster, a carnage so great that it will be difficult to accurately identify the identity of the victims, because the bodies are all dismembered,” sources from the investigation cited by the Ansa agency said. The Trento Prosecutor’s Office is handling the case to clarify whether any negligence could have been committed, although the members of Alpine Relief who participated in the rescue operations stressed that the climbers affected by the avalanche were well equipped, accompanied by guides and walked through the established trail for ascent.
The footage of the large ice avalanche in Marmolada today in close proximity.
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Indeed an impressive sequence pic.twitter.com/zDo4q40qOP
Alpine-Adriatic Meteorological Society (@aametsoc) July 3, 2022
“That block of ice was there for hundreds of centuries. The questions that the prosecutor will have to answer is whether it is really just the climate’s fault or there is some human responsibility,” said Maurizio Dellantonio, president of Socorro Alpino, quoted by local newspapers, which also offered testimonies from experts who blamed him. Blame what happened on climate change. “The high temperatures can cause small streams that emerge in the glacier, eroding its base and causing it to rupture,” said Cristian Ferrari, president of the Trentino alpinists commission that studies glaciers.
Apparently, there were four groups of mountaineers who were overwhelmed by the avalanche of ice, snow and rocks that came down the mountain at about 300 kilometers per hour. Investigators are checking the number of cars parked where the excursions start to make sure the number of people affected is not even higher. Rescue operations had to be interrupted during the afternoon when visibility decreased and due to the risk of new landslides, since there is still an ice surface equivalent to the size of two football fields on the glacier. It is expected that the search tasks will not resume until after dawn, taking advantage of the cooler hours of the day. A helicopter flew over the area to try to cause controlled avalanches to guarantee the safety of the rescue teams.
“The first witnesses spoke of about 15 people. In total there were four groups, two in the upper area, on the normal path, and another two below. But we do not know exactly how many people these groups were made up of and we must rely on hypotheses. There are blocks of ice that range from 20 to 50 centimeters and it is difficult for there to be survivors, “acknowledged Walter Cainelli, head of Alpine Relief in the province of Trentino.
Due to the large number of climbers and tourists who are in the area for the summer vacation period, there were many eyewitnesses to the avalanche. “We heard a loud noise, typical of an avalanche, and then we saw snow and ice coming down at high speed. I understood then that something serious had happened. With binoculars from here you can see the rupture of the ice block. It is likely that a little more will separate, “said one of the managers of the Castiglioni Marmolada mountain refuge.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi expressed his condolences to the victims of the avalanche and assured that he was being “constantly” informed of the progress of the rescue operations.
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