Avalanche of snow, ice and rocks slam into alpinists climbing on Marmolada, about 20 are still missing
At least six people were killed after a large chunk of a mountain glacier collapsed in the Italian Alps on Sunday afternoon, leaving eight injured and about 20 missing, authorities said on Monday.
The avalanche of snow, ice and rocks hit a group of alpinists who were rope climbing on Marmolada, the highest mountain in the Dolomites, between the northern Italian regions of Trentino and Veneto, according to local emergency services.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi expressed his "deepest condolences" to the families of the victims, whose identities were not yet known. On Monday morning, Draghi will travel to Canazei, in the Trento province, where a rescue operation center has been set.
Mountain experts said the Marmolada accident was the biggest of its kind on the Alps in decades. They noted that record-high temperatures in recent days could have contributed to accelerate the melting of the ice, but added that many factors are at play.
According to studies by Italy's state-run CNR research center, the glacier will not exist anymore in the next 25-30 years and most of its volume is already gone due to the effects of global warming.
