The toll of Sunday’s collapse of a huge block of the Marmolada glacier, the highest peak in the Italian Alps, is increasing after the discovery on Wednesday of two new bodies. “There are nine confirmed victims,” said the president of the autonomous province of Trentino, Maurizio Fugatti, during a press briefing.
“The research has allowed the identification of two new bodies, which have been transported to the valley”, confirmed on Twitter the president of the Veneto region Luca Zaia. “We still have to find three missing persons,” he added. “We are doing everything we can to find the people still wanted by their families. Research continues with drones, which have demonstrated their importance,” underlined Maurizio Fugatti.
Perilous climbing conditions
The announcement of this new assessment came as some families accuse the authorities of having left the glacier open despite obviously perilous climbing conditions. According to some testimonies, hikers and guides had warned in recent weeks about the dangerousness of the glacier, weakened by global warming as well as by record temperatures recorded this year in Italy, 10°C at the top of the Marmolada the day before the tragedy. . The high temperatures accelerated its melting and water accumulated under the ice cap, making it unstable.
The Trento public prosecutor’s office has already opened an investigation to determine the causes of this tragedy, caused by the detachment of a serac which caused an avalanche of ice and rocks which carried away several roped parties making the ascent of this glacier. , the highest peak of the Dolomites with more than 3,300 meters.
According to the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 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. .