GENEVA | The wreckage of a plane that crashed in the Swiss Alps in 1968 was discovered on a glacier more than 54 years later, police said on Friday.
The remains of the device surfaced on the Aletsch Glacier in the south-west of the canton of Valais, near the Jungfrau and Mönch peaks. The wreck was found on Thursday, the Valais police said.
“Investigations have determined that the parts came from the wreckage of a Piper Cherokee, registration HB-OYL, which crashed at this site on June 30, 1968. The salvage operations will be carried out as soon as possible,” police said in a statement.
A teacher, a chief physician and his son, all from Zurich, were on board, according to the regional newspaper 24 Heures. Their bodies had been found at the time, but not the rubble.
“At the time of the accident more than fifty years ago, the technical possibilities for recovering wrecked planes in difficult terrain were limited,” added the police.
24 Hours reports that it was a high mountain guide who discovered the wreck during an expedition in the area. Due to climate change and the melting of the glacier, the route has changed and now passes where the aircraft parts were found.