Alpine village submerged in brown sludge after glacier collapse
This photograph shows the small village of Blatten, in the Bietschhorn mountain of the Swiss Alps, destroyed by a landslide after part of the huge Birch Glacier collapsed and swallowed up by the river Lonza the day before, in Blatten on May 29, 2025.
A huge piece of glacier torpedoed down a Swiss mountainside Wednesday and crashed into an Alpine village, destroying 90% of the town.
According to authorities in Switzerland, a 64-year-old man remains missing after the disaster.
Blatten landslide
What we know:
Video on social media and Swiss TV showed the mudslide near Blatten, in the southern Lötschental valley, with homes and buildings partially submerged under a mass of brownish sludge.
RELATED: Elephants react to San Diego earthquake, swarm around young
A large chunk of the Birch Glacier above the village had broken off, causing the landslide, which also buried the nearby Lonza River bed, raising the possibility of dammed water flows.
This photograph taken above Wiler shows the Bietschhorn mountain in the Swiss Alps after part of the huge Birch Glacier collapsed the day before and destroyed the small village of Blatten, on May 29, 2025. (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Ima
The village of about 300 people had been evacuated earlier this month as a precaution. Livestock were also evacuated from the area.
What we don't know:
It’s unclear why the 64-year-old man had not been evacuated. Local authorities said a search and rescue operation was underway for the missing man, and it involved a drone with a thermal camera.
RELATED: Antarctica gains ice for first time in decades, reversing trend of mass loss, study finds
Glacier melting concerns
The backstory:
Swiss glaciologists have repeatedly expressed concerns about a thaw in recent years — attributed in large part to global warming — that has accelerated the retreat of glaciers in Switzerland.
The landlocked Alpine country has the most glaciers of any country in Europe, and saw 4% of its total glacier volume disappear in 2023. That was the second-biggest decline in a single year after a 6% drop in 2022.
The Source: This report includes information from The Associated Press and Swiss media outlets.