Official: 17 unaccounted for in Italian glacier avalanche

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By FRANCES D'EMILIO

ROME (AP) — Some 17 people remain unaccounted for a day after a huge chunk of an Alpine glacier broke off and slammed into hikers in northern Italy, officials said Monday.

At least six people died and 9 were injured by the avalanche of ice, snow and large rocks thundering down the slope of the mountain topped by the Marmolada glacier Sunday afternoon.

Trento Prosecutor Sandro Raimondi said that 17 hikers were believed to be missing, the Italian news agency LaPresse reported.

Veneto regional Gov. Luca Zaia said some of those hiking in the area on Sunday were roped together as they climbed.



This undated image made available Monday, July 4, 2022, by the press office of the Autonomous Province of Trento shows the glacier in the Marmolada range of Italy's Alps near Trento from which a large chunk has broken loose Sunday, killing at least six hikers and injuring eight others. Drones were being used to spot any more bodies on an Italian Alpine mountainside a day after a huge chunk of a glacier broke loose, sending an avalanche of ice, snow, and rocks onto hikers. Rescuers on Sunday spotted six bodies and said nine survivors were injured. Attention on Monday was focused on determining how many people who might have been hiking on the Marmolada peak are unaccounted for. Rescuers said conditions downslope from the glacier, which has been melting for decades, were still too unstable to immediately send rescuers and dogs into the area to look for others buried under tons of debris. (Autonomous Province of Trento via AP)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/science-mountains-italy-glaciers-abdf984518594f62820c0ea6b70211d1

[Skittles]

1. I think people who climb mountains are crazy

but I think life would be very boring indeed if people never did crazy things

my sympathy to their loved ones

[mjvpi]

2. Doing something they love, vs a head on from a drunk driver, vs dying slowly with dementia.?

Yes, sympathy for loved ones. Death is the only guarantee we get. Peace and love are imperative.

[Skittles]

3. unsure of your point

people who climb mountains can still be killed by drunk drivers or get dementia

I also care about the people who have to risk their lives getting people off those mountains when they get into trouble.

[maxsolomon]

4. This isn't a particularly challenging peak.

There's a building on the ridge above the ice mass. More like a day hike. It's near a ski lift.

It could have been me - I've wanted to hike the Dolomites for years.