A massive piece of the glacier on the Marmolada (Dolomites/Italy) broke away last Sunday, killing eleven people and injuring eight, some seriously
Canazei (Italy) – Sad certainty after almost a week. The last missing person was found dead when the glacier broke off on the Marmolada in the Dolomites. The final death toll is eleven. The dead are six men and three women from Italy and two Czech climbers. According to media reports, the youngest victim was a 22-year-old Italian. All of the dead could be identified with certainty by means of a DNA comparison.
Eight people were injured, including two Germans. One of them, a 67-year-old man, was able to leave the Feltre hospital on Saturday morning. He was picked up by relatives and brought back to Germany, according to the Ulss Dolomiti clinic. The second German climber (58) is still in a clinic in the city of Belluno. Her condition is improving, said Luca Zaia, President of the Veneto Region. The mountain rescuers assume that there are no more victims buried in the masses of ice and rubble. “At this point in time, we do not assume that other people were involved,” said Carabinieri Captain Giampietro Lago.
The injured 67-year-old German climber was released from hospital on Saturday and picked up by his family. The Italian clinic posted the photo on Facebook
Nevertheless, the search measures continue. Three teams are to look out for body parts and personal belongings of the victims in three zones of the avalanche cone.
A week ago on Sunday, a huge part of the mountain broke off on the north side of the Marmolada, the highest mountain in the Dolomites, and fell down into the valley together with water and debris at a speed of 300 km/h. The avalanche carried away several groups of alpinists. Including a man and a woman from Germany, both seriously injured and admitted to intensive care units .
According to experts, the trigger for the deadly demolition was the high temperatures of the past few days and weeks – possibly a result of climate change.
Relatives of some of the victims are now accusing the Italian authorities of not closing off the glacier area as a precaution and thus acting negligently. In the past few weeks, hikers and mountain guides have warned of the danger posed by the glacier.
The public prosecutor’s office in Trento has initiated investigations into the cause of the accident.