Swiss alpine village wiped out by collapsing glacier

The water from the River Lonza cannot flow down the valley because there is an enormous plug,

Raphael Mayoraz, a cantonal geologist, told Swiss national broadcaster SRF

There’s a risk that the situation could get worse,

Ganzer said, alluding to the blocked river

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 in front of a church in the neighbouring village of Wiler

What I can tell you at the moment is that about 90 per cent 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

Unexpected things happen at places that we have not seen for hundreds of years, most probably due to climate change,

he said