Swiss glacier collapses, burying village: Video, satellites show Blatten before and after
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Watch shocking footage of a Swiss glacier collapse that largely destroyed an Alpine village
A huge chunk of a glacier broke off of a mountainside on Wednesday, causing a deluge of ice, mud and rock that buried most of the village of Blatten. Police said a 64-year-old man was reported missing, and search and rescue operations involving a drone with thermal camera were suspended Thursday. Authorities had ordered the evacuation of about 300 people, as well as all livestock, from the village amid fears that the 1.5 million cubic meter glacier was at risk of collapse. Swiss glaciologists have repeatedly expressed concerns about a thaw in recent years, attributed in large part to global warming, that has accelerated the retreat of glaciers in Switzerland. The landlocked Alpine country has the most glaciers of any country in Europe, and saw 4% of its total glacier volume disappear in 2023.
Video on social media and Swiss TV showed the mudslide near Blatten, in the southern Lötschental valley, with homes and buildings partially submerged under a mass of brownish sludge. Regional police said a 64-year-old man was reported missing, and search and rescue operations involving a drone with thermal camera were suspended Thursday, according to The Associated Press.
“What I can tell you at the moment is that about 90% of the village is covered or destroyed, so it’s a major catastrophe that has happened here in Blatten,” Stephane Ganzer, the head of security in the southern Valais region, told local TV channel Canal9.
The regional government said in a statement that a large chunk of the Birch Glacier above the village had broken off, causing the landslide which also buried the nearby Lonza River bed, raising the possibility of dammed water flows.
Watch incredible footage of the glacier collapse: Raw video: Glacier collapse sends rock, debris cascading toward Swiss village A huge chunk of a glacier broke off of a mountainside on Wednesday, May 28, causing a deluge of ice, mud and rock that buried most of the village of Blatten. This video is courtesy of Pomona Media via ABC News.
“There’s a risk that the situation could get worse,” Ganzer said, alluding to the blocked river.
He said the army had been mobilized after earlier indications that the movement of the glacier was accelerating.
At a news conference, Swiss Environment Minister Albert Rösti lamented “an extraordinary event” and said the government would take steps to help villagers who lost their homes.
In recent days the authorities had ordered the evacuation of about 300 people, as well as all livestock, from the village amid fears that the 1.5 million cubic meter (52 million cubic feet) glacier was at risk of collapse.
Maxar Technologies/AP This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the village of Blatten after suffering a mudslide, in Switzerland, May 29, 2025. (Maxar Technologies via AP)
Local authorities were deploying by helicopter and across the area to assess the damage, Jonas Jeitziner, a spokesman for the Lötschental crisis center, told The Associated Press by phone.
Swiss glaciologists have repeatedly expressed concerns about a thaw in recent years, attributed in large part to global warming, that has accelerated the retreat of glaciers in Switzerland.
The landlocked Alpine country has the most glaciers of any country in Europe, and saw 4% of its total glacier volume disappear in 2023. That was the second-biggest decline in a single year after a 6% drop in 2022.
In 2023, residents of the village of Brienz, in eastern Switzerland, were evacuated before a huge mass of rock slid down a mountainside, stopping just short of the community. Brienz was evacuated again last year because of the threat of a further rockslide.
Here at home, Denver7 went in-depth a couple of years ago on the state of Colorado’s glaciers and the stories they’re telling us. Watch the video below for a look at the science, the data, and the shrinking trend at our state’s glaciers.
Satellite Photos Show Aftermath of Switzerland Glacier Collapse
Photos and videos show a violent surge of ice, rock and mud, followed by a dense dust cloud that soon engulfed the Alpine village of Blatten. Homes disappeared beneath thick brown sludge as the collapse triggered a debris avalanche, described by local officials as a “major catastrophe” “The damage is considerable,” the Valais local government said in a statement on Thursday. “What happened is the unthinkable, the catastrophic worst-case scenario,” a specialist in high-mountain geology and glaciers told RTS Swiss Television. “The challenge lies in the behavior of this accumulation of water and the Lonza River, which could cause a torrential lava flow if the river overflows onto the deposit,” a local official said. “Right now, the shock is so profound that I can’t think about it yet,” said one local official from neighboring Wiler, according to one report. “Despite the great efforts made, the man has still not been found,” the Swiss government said.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Satellite imagery from the glacial collapse in Switzerland shows the extent of damage suffered by a village and its residents.
Why It Matters
Footage of the Birch Glacier’s collapse on Wednesday has widely circulated, with photos and videos showing a violent surge of ice, rock, and mud, followed by a dense dust cloud that soon engulfed the Alpine village of Blatten.
Homes disappeared beneath thick brown sludge as the collapse triggered a debris avalanche, described by local officials as a “major catastrophe.”
What To Know
“The damage is considerable,” the Valais local government said in a statement on Thursday. “The Lonza River is blocked, and a lake is forming. The challenge lies in the behavior of this accumulation of water and the Lonza River, which could cause a torrential lava flow if the river overflows onto the deposit.”
A satellite image shows the destruction caused by the Birch Glacier’s collapse in Switzerland on May 28, 2025. A surge of ice, rock and mud followed by a dense dust cloud swallowed the village of… A satellite image shows the destruction caused by the Birch Glacier’s collapse in Switzerland on May 28, 2025. A surge of ice, rock and mud followed by a dense dust cloud swallowed the village of Blatten. More Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies
In advance of the environmental disaster caused by the 1.5 million-cubic-meter (over 52 million cubic feet) Birch Glacier above the village, officials ordered the evacuation of the village’s approximately 300 residents and all livestock.
Blatten is in the Valais region, south of Switzerland’s capital, Bern.
Stéphane Ganzer, the head of security for the Valais region, told Canal9 TV, “What I can tell you at the moment is that about 90 percent of the village is covered or destroyed, so it’s a major catastrophe that has happened here in Blatten,” according to the Associated Press.
Another satellite image of the disaster in Switzerland. Another satellite image of the disaster in Switzerland. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies
Ganzer added that there is a risk that the situation “could get worse,” citing not just the burial of the village but also the blockage of the nearby Lonza River, which has increased concerns about flooding.
Swiss Environment Minister Albert Rösti described the disaster as “an extraordinary event” in a news conference, adding that support would be provided to those who lost their homes.
Authorities reported a 64-year-old man missing, prompting a search operation aided by drones with thermal imaging.
The magnitude of the glacial impact in Switzerland, seen from space. The magnitude of the glacial impact in Switzerland, seen from space. Planet Labs PBC
Days prior to the actual event, in anticipation of the collapse on mountain slopes, videos shared on social media showed local officials strapping cows to helicopters and transporting them to safety.
In addition to the 300 evacuated residents, livestock evacuations included 26 cows, 190 sheep and 20 rabbits, according to one video posted online. Newsweek could not verify the information.
Photos from different angles show the broader landscape. Photos from different angles show the broader landscape. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies
What People Are Saying
Christophe Lambiel, a specialist in high-mountain geology and glaciers at the University of Lausanne, told RTS Swiss Television: “What happened is the unthinkable, the catastrophic worst-case scenario.”
Valais Cantonal Police, in a statement: “The missing person is a 64-year-old resident of the region, who, according to our information, was in the area concerned at the time of the event.
“Despite the great efforts made, the man has still not been found. Various additional measures and options for locating the person are continuously analyzed. The search continues.”
Jonas Jeitziner, a local official from neighboring Wiler, said, according to Reuters: “Right now, the shock is so profound that one can’t think about it yet.”
What Happens Next
The Valais local government stated that significant resources have been deployed to address this situation, including the army conducting reconnaissance and mobilizing its own resources. Civil protection has also been mobilized.
Residents have been urged to comply with the authorities’ instructions and refrain from traveling to the affected area.
Swiss glacier collapse threatens two more villages as dam could burst
Swiss glacier collapse threatens two more villages as dam could burst and devastate the two settlements. The shocking event in Valais on Wednesday, May 28, caused the village of Blatten to be subjected to an immense amount of debris. The 300 people who live in Blatten were evacuated before the landslide, but authorities have since stated that one individual is still missing. A sewage treatment facility and power plant which had recently been built could be destroyed by the potential flood posed by the river Lonza. The village of Kippel has been evacuated as a precaution due to the flood risk posed following the landslide. A thick plume of dust could be seen arising from the Swiss village following the event. The Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) said: “The lake behind the debris is getting higher and higher”
The shocking event in Valais on Wednesday, May 28, caused the village of Blatten to be subjected to an immense amount of debris consisting of various pieces of rock and ice.
Aerial photos show the village of Blatten having been demolished by the glacier collapse (Image: AP )
Looming floodwaters are threatening to strike two more Swiss villages in after a glacier collapse saw nearly an entire village become buried under snow. The shocking avalanche in Valais on Wednesday, May 28, saw the village of Blatten subjected to an immense amount of debris consisting of various pieces of rock and ice.
It occurred after a chunk of the Birch Glacier in the south of Switzerland fell off, with broken pieces of the wedge tumbling down the mountain and leaving a huge dust cloud in the area around the village, with 90 per cent of the town now being buried in debris. The 300 people who live in Blatten were evacuated before the landslide, but authorities have since stated that one individual is still missing.
Terrifying video captures moment massive glacier crashes down mountain and buries village READ MORE:
A thick plume of dust could be seen arising from the Swiss village following the event (Image: BBC )
Following the dramatic turn of events, the two villages of Kippel and Wiler have been ordered to evacuate by authorities as a safety precaution. This is due to the earlier landslide now blocking the river Lonza, creating a makeshift dam that could burst and devastate the two settlements while also sweeping the debris from yesterday’s event into the area.
Antoine Jacquod, a military security official, told the Keystone-ATS news agency: “‘There is a serious risk of an ice jam that could flood the valley below.”
The army has since made a statement that equipment such as water pumps and diggers were being made available as needed.
It is estimated that 90 per cent of the village of Blatten had been buried by debris (Image: Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Tech )
Christoph Hegg of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) told Blick: “The lake behind the debris is getting higher and higher. And the water masses are pressing on the dam. This increases the pressure.”
He added: “The worst case scenario is that the load on the dam becomes too great and the dam breaks. The water masses then rush into the valley and, depending on the strength of the material, are likely to sweep the debris with them.”
Local politician Christophe Darbellay told news outlet 20 Minuten that Blatten had “disappeared from the map”, while locals told the outlet that a sewage treatment facility and power plant which had recently been built could be destroyed by the potential flood posed by the river Lonza.
The village of Kippel (foreground) has been evacuated as a precaution due to the flood risk posed following the landslide (Image: AP )
Blatten’s president Matthias Bellwald said during a press conference yesterday that the “unimaginable” had happened.
He said: “We have lost our village, but not our hearts.
“Even though the village lies under a huge pile of rubble, we know where our homes and our church must be rebuilt.”
Blatten’s president Matthias Bellwald that residents had lost their village, but not their “hearts” (Image: AFP via Getty Images )
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Climate change has been proposed as a likely reason for the devastating events seen in the region as a result of the Birch Glacier.
Matthias Huss, head of the Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS), said that rocks in the permafrost zone of the mountain had possibly loosened and contributed to the collapse.
He told Reuters: “Unexpected things happen at places that we have not seen for hundreds of years, most probably due to climate change.”
‘I lost everything’: Swiss residents in shock after glacier debris buries village
A deluge of millions of cubic meters of ice, mud and rock crashed down a mountain on Wednesday, engulfing the village of Blatten. Its 300 residents had already been evacuated earlier in May after part of the mountain behind the Birch Glacier began to crumble. Local authorities suspended the search for a missing 64-year-old man on Thursday afternoon, saying the debris mounds were too unstable for now. The worst scenario would be that a wave of debris bursts the nearby Ferden Dam, Valais canton official Stephane Ganzer said. “I don’t want to talk just now. I lost everything yesterday,” said one middle-aged woman from Blatten, declining to give her name as she sat alone disconsolately in front of a church in the neighbouring village of Wiler. The Swiss army said around 50 personnel as well as water pumps, diggers and other heavy equipment were on standby to provide relief when it was safe. “You can’t tell that there was ever a settlement there,” he told Reuters.
Dam emptied as precaution against further mudslides
Search for missing man temporarily abandoned
Thawing permafrost is causing new mountain dangers
WILER, Switzerland, May 29 (Reuters) – Residents struggled on Thursday to absorb the scale of devastation caused by a huge slab of glacier that buried most of their picturesque Swiss village, in what scientists suspect is a dramatic example of climate change’s impact on the Alps.
A deluge of millions of cubic meters of ice, mud and rock crashed down a mountain on Wednesday, engulfing the village of Blatten and the few houses that remained were later flooded. Its 300 residents had already been evacuated earlier in May after part of the mountain behind the Birch Glacier began to crumble.
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Rescue teams with search dogs and thermal drone scans have continued looking for a missing 64-year-old man but have found nothing. Local authorities suspended the search on Thursday afternoon, saying the debris mounds were too unstable for now and warned of further rockfalls.
With the Swiss army closely monitoring the situation, flooding worsened during the day as vast mounds of debris almost two kilometers across clogged the path of the River Lonza, causing a huge lake to form amid the wreckage and raising fears that the morass could dislodge.
Water levels have been rising by 80 centimetres an hour from the blocked river and melting glacier ice, Stephane Ganzer, head of the security division for the Valais canton, told reporters.
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter is returning early from high-level talks in Ireland and will visit the site on Friday, her office said.
“I don’t want to talk just now. I lost everything yesterday. I hope you understand,” said one middle-aged woman from Blatten, declining to give her name as she sat alone disconsolately in front of a church in the neighbouring village of Wiler.
Nearby, the road ran along the valley before ending abruptly at the mass of mud and debris now blanketing her own village.
A thin cloud of dust hung in the air over the Kleines Nesthorn Mountain where the rockslide occurred while a helicopter buzzed overhead.
Werner Bellwald, a 65-year-old cultural studies expert, lost the wooden family house built in 1654 where he lived in Ried, a hamlet next to Blatten also wiped out by the deluge.
Item 1 of 11 A few remaining houses are seen after a massive rock and ice slide covered most of the village of Blatten, Switzerland May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth [1/11] A few remaining houses are seen after a massive rock and ice slide covered most of the village of Blatten, Switzerland May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab
“You can’t tell that there was ever a settlement there,” he told Reuters. “Things happened there that no one here thought were possible.”
PROFOUND SHOCK
The worst scenario would be that a wave of debris bursts the nearby Ferden Dam, Valais canton official Ganzer said. He added that the chances of this further mudslide were currently unlikely, noting that the dam had been emptied as a precaution so it could act as a buffer zone.
Local authorities said that the buildings in Blatten which had emerged intact from the landslide are now flooded and that some residents of nearby villages had been evacuated.
The army said around 50 personnel as well as water pumps, diggers and other heavy equipment were on standby to provide relief when it was safe.
Authorities were airlifting livestock out of the area, said Jonas Jeitziner, a local official in Wiler, as a few sheep scrambled out of a container lowered from a helicopter.
Asked how he felt about the future, he said, gazing towards the plain of mud: “Right now, the shock is so profound that one can’t think about it yet.”
The catastrophe has revived concern about the impact of rising temperatures on Alpine permafrost where thawing has loosened some rock structures, creating new mountain hazards
For years, the Birch Glacier has been creeping down the mountainside, pressured by shifting debris near the summit.
Matthias Huss, head of Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland, pointed to the likely influence of climate change in loosening the rock mass among the permafrost, which triggered the collapse.
“Unexpected things happen at places that we have not seen for hundreds of years, most probably due to climate change,” he told Reuters.
Reporting by Dave Graham; Writing and additional reporting by Emma Farge in Geneva; Editing by Alison Williams, Gareth Jones, Mark Porter, Philippa Fletcher
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