Several helicopters were deployed on the spot to take part in the rescue operations and monitor the evolution of the situation. This collapse occurred the day after a record temperature at the top of the glacier, ten degrees.
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A huge block broke off on Sunday July 3 from the Marmolada glacier in the Italian Alps, killing at least six people and injuring eight, according to the latest report from Venice Civil Protection. at Rai.
Two wounded were taken to hospital in Belluno, a more serious one in Treviso, and five in Trento, said a spokeswoman for relief, without giving details of the nationality of the victims.
Several helicopters were deployed on the spot to take part in the rescue operations and to monitor the situation. This collapse occurred the day after a record temperature at the top of the glacier, ten degrees.
Operazioni in corso per grossa valanga in #Marmolada. He president of the Autonomous Province of Trento @MaurizioFugatti sta raggiungendo Canazei dove è stato allestito un punto operative.
The newshttps://t.co/aoCqF7024n@dpcpat1 pic.twitter.com/YLR3HLxEno— Provincia Trento (@ProvinciaTrento) July 3, 2022
A collapse due to “the extreme heat of the last few days”
The relief spokeswoman described “an avalanche of snow, ice and rock which in its path hit the access road when several ropes were there, some of which were swept away”. “The definitive number of mountaineers involved is not yet known”she added.
According to scientist Renato Colucci, interviewed by AFP, “the extreme heat of the last few days (…) has probably produced a large quantity of liquid water from the melting of the glacier and accumulating at the base of the block” which then collapsed for lack of support.
According to the IPCC report published on March 1, the melting of ice and snow is one of the ten major threats caused by global warming, disrupting ecosystems and threatening certain infrastructures.