Search and rescue operations resumed on Monday in the Italian Alps as 17 people remain missing, officials said, after part of a glacier collapsed, killing at least six people and injuring eight.
The avalanche occurred in the Marmolada, which at over 3,300 meters is the highest peak in the Dolomites, a chain in the eastern Italian Alps that spans the regions of Trento and Veneto.
Rising average temperatures have caused the Marmolada glacier, like many others around the world, to shrink steadily in recent decades.
It was unclear what caused the ice to break, but an early summer heat wave in Italy saw temperatures rise sharply, including at Marmolada.
“For weeks, temperatures at high altitudes in the Alps were well above normal values, while last winter there was little snow, which hardly protects glacial basins,” said Renato Colucci of the National Research Council’s Institute of Polar Sciences ( CNR) said in a statement.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and the head of the National Civil Protection Agency are expected to visit the area later on Monday.
Source: CNN Brasil
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