Swiss Village Devastated by Glacier Collapse: Search for Missing Man Suspended
Picture a postcard-perfect Swiss village, nestled in the heart of the Alps, with wooden chalets and rolling meadows.
Now imagine it gone, swallowed by a monstrous wave of mud, ice, and rock.
That’s the grim reality for Blatten, a small community in Switzerland’s Lötschental valley, after a massive chunk of the Birch Glacier collapsed on May 28, 2025.
The catastrophic landslide buried 90% of the village, leaving homes, barns, and dreams under a thick layer of debris.
As the search for a missing 64-year-old man stalls due to dangerous conditions, this disaster feels like a wake-up call for a world grappling with climate change.
A Mountain’s Fury Unleashed
It was just after noon on May 28 when the Birch Glacier, perched high above Blatten, gave way.
A vast section—estimated to be covered by nine million tons of debris—broke apart, sending a deluge of ice, mud, and rocks crashing down the mountainside.
“An unbelievable amount of material thundered down into the valley,” said Matthias Ebener, a spokesperson for local authorities, in a statement to Reuters.
Drone footage and social media videos captured the chaos: a massive plume of dust rising as the landslide engulfed the village, leaving behind a landscape that looked more like a war zone than an Alpine paradise.
State Councilor Stéphane Ganzer, speaking to Radio Télévision Suisse, confirmed the scale of the destruction: “About 90% of the village is covered or destroyed.”
Homes were partially submerged, wooden structures shattered, and the once-vibrant community reduced to rubble. “It’s like a mountain fell on us,” one resident told NBC News, their voice heavy with disbelief.
A Missing Man, A Suspended Search
Amid the wreckage, the fate of a 64-year-old man hangs in the balance.
His identity hasn’t been released, but his disappearance has cast a shadow over the community.
Rescue teams, using drones with thermal cameras and search dogs, scoured the debris field but were forced to halt operations on Thursday, May 29, due to the unstable terrain.
“The deposit is not very stable, and debris flow is possible within the deposit itself,” cantonal authorities stated, explaining why intervention was too risky for now (AP News).
The pause in the search is a gut punch for Blatten’s residents, who are already grappling with the loss of their homes.
“It’s hard to hold onto hope when you can’t even look for him,” one local shared, reflecting the community’s anguish.
A Timely Evacuation
If there’s a silver lining, it’s that Blatten’s 300 residents were safely evacuated on May 19, nine days before the collapse.
Geologists had been monitoring the Birch Glacier, which was moving at an alarming 8-11 feet per day, and warned of an imminent avalanche of rock and ice (New York Times).
The decision to clear out the village, along with all livestock, likely saved countless lives.
“We had no choice but to leave,” a resident recalled, describing the heart-wrenching moment of abandoning their home.
But the danger didn’t end with the landslide.
On May 28, authorities evacuated 16 people from two downstream villages as a precaution against potential flooding.
The Lonza River, buried under the debris, has formed a growing lake that could burst, threatening the valley below.
“There’s a serious risk of an ice jam that could flood the valley,” warned Antoine Jacquod, a military security official, in an interview with Keystone-ATS.
The Swiss army is now on the scene, deploying clearing equipment and pumps to manage the risk.
Climate Change: The Silent Culprit
Why did this happen? The answer, experts say, lies in the warming planet.
Switzerland’s glaciers are melting at a terrifying pace, losing 10% of their volume in just two years (2022-2023)—equivalent to the ice lost over three decades from 1960 to 1990 (World Economic Forum).
The Birch Glacier, already weakened by cracks and rapid movement, was a disaster waiting to happen.
“This event has no precedent in the Swiss Alps this or last century,” said Christian Huggel, a glaciologist from the University of Zurich, pointing to climate change’s role in destabilizing permafrost (Reuters).
The numbers are staggering. Switzerland, home to more glaciers than any other European country, saw a 4% glacier volume loss in 2023 alone, following a record 6% in 2022 (CBS News).
A 2024 report noted a further 2.5% loss, despite heavy snowfall earlier in the year (Reuters).
“It’s worrying that even a snow-rich winter couldn’t stop the melt,” said Matthias Huss, Director of GLAMOS, Switzerland’s glacier monitoring body.
A Community’s Heartbreak
For Blatten’s residents, the loss is more than physical—it’s deeply personal.
“I lost everything,” one villager told Reuters, their words echoing the collective grief.
Mayor Matthias Bellwald, despite the devastation, struck a defiant note: “We’ve lost our village, but not our heart,” he told SRF.
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter, set to visit the area on Friday, May 30, expressed solidarity on X: “It’s terrible to lose your home” (AP News).
The emotional toll is compounded by the practical challenges.
The debris, stretching nearly two kilometers and dozens of meters thick, has made recovery efforts daunting.
“It’ll take years to rebuild,” officials admitted at a press conference, a sobering reality for a community already stretched thin.
The Bigger Picture
This isn’t just Blatten’s tragedy—it’s a warning for the world.
Switzerland’s glaciers have lost 39% of their mass since 2000, the highest relative loss globally (NASA Earth Observatory).
If greenhouse gas emissions aren’t slashed, experts like Daniel Farinotti from ETH Zurich warn that all Swiss glaciers could vanish by 2100 (ETH Zurich).
“If we stabilize warming between 1.5°C and 2°C, we might save a quarter of the ice,” Farinotti said, but time is running out.
The melting glaciers aren’t just a loss of natural beauty—they threaten water supplies, agriculture, and ecosystems.
The Blatten disaster, coming just days after five skiers were found dead on a glacier near Zermatt (CBS News), is a stark reminder of the Alps’ growing dangers.
“We’re not just losing ice,” one environmentalist posted on X. “We’re losing a piece of Switzerland’s soul.”
Looking Ahead
As Blatten begins the long journey to recovery, the immediate focus is on managing the flood risk from the dammed Lonza River.
The Swiss army is working tirelessly, but the unstable debris makes every step precarious.
For the residents, the future is uncertain, but their resolve is clear. “We will rebuild,” Mayor Bellwald promised, a vow that carries the weight of a community’s hope.
This disaster also puts a spotlight on the urgent need for climate action.
With glaciers retreating faster than ever, events like this could become more common, threatening not just villages but entire regions.
For now, Blatten stands as a symbol of loss—and a call to act before the Alps lose their icy heart forever.
