CANAZEI | The search for people missing when part of the Marmolada glacier, the largest in the Italian Alps, collapsed on Sunday will continue on Tuesday with the reinforcement of drones and helicopters, although the chances of finding survivors are minimal.
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The disaster left at least seven dead and eight injured, and a dozen people are missing from their loved ones, but their presence at the time of the glacier rupture is unconfirmed at this time.
A burning chapel has been erected on the grounds of the ice rink in Canazei, the place downstream from the glacier where the crisis unit that coordinates the research is based. The families and relatives of the victims can thus pay their respects.
Among the injured are two Germans, a 67-year-old man and a 58-year-old woman, who remain in serious condition.
Rescuers deployed drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras in hopes of locating survivors in the mass of ice and crumbling rocks, Canazei Mayor Giovanni Bernard told AFP.
But the chances of finding survivors are “almost zero,” warned the head of the region’s mountain rescue service, Giorgio Gajer.
Only drone and helicopter overflights over the disaster area are planned for Tuesday due to the risk of another glacier collapse.
Radars and dog units
“The danger is that other seracs (blocks of ice) could break off. Access to the entire area is still prohibited,” explained the Canazei crisis team.
However, the President of the Alpine Rescue Services, Maurizio Dellantonio, assured that he was trying “to organize an inspection in absolute safety directly on the glacier (…) with dog units for tomorrow (Wednesday), at the latest the day after tomorrow, meaning a group of a maximum of twenty people be”.
“Important finds, not just bones, are first photographed, then picked up and picked up by helicopter” and taken to Canazei, where they are “listed and stored in a cold room,” he said, citing in particular “bones with bits of meat,” a piece of hand with a ring, tattoos, anything that can help identify a person, including shoes, backpacks, or ice axes.
Specialized technicians are also being mobilized to install near a shelter “a radar capable of detecting very fast movements such as avalanches and slower ones such as landslides,” said Nicola Casagli on site, professor of applied geology at the University of Florence, quoted by the AGI agency.
The disaster, which happened the day after a record temperature of 10°C at the top of the glacier, amid an early heatwave in the Italian peninsula, is “undoubtedly” linked to “the deterioration of the environment and the climate,” Prime Minister Mario said Draghi at the scene on Monday and expressed his “support” for the victims’ families.
A Czech among the victims
Only three of the seven climbers killed have been identified, but their nationalities have not been released by Italian authorities. The Czech Foreign Ministry nevertheless confirmed to AFP that one of its nationals was among the deceased victims.
The Trento Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation to determine the causes of this tragedy.
The glacier collapsed near the village of Punta Rocca, along the route normally taken to reach its summit.
La Marmolada, also called “Queen of the Dolomites”, is the largest glacier of this mountain range in northern Italy, part of the Alps. Located in Trentino, it springs from the Avisio River and overlooks Lake Fedaia.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released March 1, melting ice and snow is one of the top ten threats caused by global warming, disrupting ecosystems and threatening certain infrastructures. .