Almost a week ago, a glacier broke off in the Dolomites, killing several hikers. Now the salvage teams manage to get the last dead person off the mountain. The victims are commemorated in the region today.
Almost a week after the glacier broke off in the northern Italian Dolomites, the search teams found the eleventh and last missing dead person. As the emergency services announced, the mortal remains of an alpinist were discovered who had been swept away by an avalanche of ice and debris on the Marmolada mountain last Sunday.
In the morning, emergency services with dog squadrons flew to the flank of Mount Marmolada again because a climber was suspected to be under the ice and boulder masses. After last Sunday’s accident, the rescuers and also the politicians in the northern Italian region had promised that the search would continue until all the dead were found and recovered.
The police and mountain rescue specialists had previously recovered ten dead people. The mission was dangerous because the ground is not stable. Monitoring systems from Switzerland therefore controlled possible movements on the approximately two-kilometer-long glacier mass.
Thanks to DNA comparisons, the Carabinieri managed to identify the bodies. Experts compared the DNA traces of the body parts found on the mountain with those of the relatives. The dead are six men and three women from Italy and two Czech climbers. Eight people were injured. Among them are a man and a woman from Germany who are being treated in a clinic in the province of Belluno. The hospital said her condition was stable.
The mayor of Canazei has ordered a public day of mourning in all the municipalities of Val di Fassa for this Saturday. A minute’s silence is scheduled for 6 p.m. At the same time, a funeral mass is to begin in the parish church of Canazei, which will be celebrated by the Archbishop of Trento, Lauro Tisi, among others.
After record temperatures, part of the Marmolada glacier broke off in the Dolomites last Sunday, causing an avalanche of snow, ice and rock to fall, taking mountain hikers with it.
