Hopes of surviving 13 people lost in an avalanche caused by the collapse of a glacier mass on Marmolada Mountain in the Italian Alps are fading.
In the avalanche that occurred last Sunday afternoon, the lifeless bodies of 6 people were found on the first day, and one person yesterday. While the number of missing people is calculated as 13, the search for these people is progressing with difficulty due to the risk of a new collapse.
Public broadcaster Rai said this morning that hope of finding the missing alive was dashed, with aid workers no longer carrying out rescue efforts but only searching.
Search efforts continue from the air in case of a new collapse or avalanche on the mountain.
It is stated that the people who were caught under the avalanche, which reached a speed of 300 km per hour, may have fallen into the crevices in the mountainous area and their body integrity may have deteriorated, making the search efforts even more difficult. Due to the severity of the avalanche, only 3 of the 7 people whose bodies were found could be identified.
The Italian press draws attention to the fact that as time passes, the probability of finding the missing persons becomes less and that even finding the dead bodies is not certain.
The newspaper La Repubblica published a report today with the headline “Buried Forever”, referring to the difficulty of finding the bodies under the ice sheet. Maurizio Dellantonio, leader of the Alpine Rescue League, told the newspaper, “The bodies may come back weeks or months later, when the ice they were under melts. Some may not be found at all.”
It is believed that the avalanche is caused by the melting of a part of the glacier due to high air temperatures and the resulting water layer causing a shift in the glacier mass. Locals say they have heard the sound of water flowing under the ice floe lately.
State of emergency declaration
After the winter with low precipitation rates throughout Italy, since the beginning of May, the air temperatures well above the seasonal normals lead to extraordinary results. It is calculated that the water level in the country’s longest river, the Po, has dropped to its lowest level in the last 70 years.
The government declared a state of emergency due to drought in 5 regions in the north yesterday evening. A special fund of 36.5 million euro was allocated to the regions of Emilia-Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lombardia, Piedmont and Veneto.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, during his visit to the town of Canazei near Mount Marmolada yesterday, described the avalanche disaster as “This is a drama with an unpredictable side, but also connected with the deterioration of the environment and climate situation.”
Draghi said the government would take measures to “minimize or even eliminate” the possibility of such incidents happening again.