Swiss Village of Blatten Buried as Birch Glacier Collapses, One Missing and Widespread Destruction Confirmed

Before and after of Blatten, Switzerland — a village that was buried yesterday following the collapse of the Birch Glacier. Approximately 90% of the village was buried underneath this massive cascade of rocks

Swiss Village of Blatten Buried as Birch Glacier Collapses, One Missing and Widespread Destruction Confirmed

A catastrophic glacier collapse buried nearly the entire Swiss Alpine village of Blatten under a massive landslide on Wednesday, leaving homes destroyed, one person missing, and emergency services scrambling to assess the scale of the devastation. Shocking video footage captured the moment a vast cloud of ice, mud, and scree roared down the mountainside, engulfing the village in the southern canton of Valais.

The disaster was triggered when a significant section of the Birch Glacier broke off around 3:30 p.m. local time, unleashing an avalanche of debris that covered approximately 90% of the commune. Home to about 300 residents, Blatten was almost entirely swallowed by the sudden landslide, with drone footage revealing a vast wasteland of rubble and a buried river running through the heart of the settlement.

Footage showed a cloud of ice and scree pluming as rockfall headed towards the valley

President of Blatten, Matthias Bellwald, addressed the tragedy, stating, "The unimaginable has happened. We have lost our village, but not our hearts." He added that despite the devastation, they are determined to rebuild: "Even though the village lies under a huge pile of rubble, we know where our homes and our church must be rebuilt."

The landslide, consisting of nearly three million cubic metres of rock and soil, had been anticipated for several days, prompting mass evacuations earlier in the week. Nevertheless, a 64-year-old local man remains missing after the glacier’s collapse. Rescue teams, including three specialists airlifted to the area and drones equipped with thermal imaging, have so far been unable to locate him. “Despite significant efforts, the man has still not been found,” local police confirmed.

Tiny homes are dwarfed by the huge cloud. An official said it was the 'worst case scenario'

Swiss military units were deployed to assist in the response, as the magnitude of the disaster and the instability of the surrounding terrain continued to pose significant risks. Officials warned that the situation could worsen due to a blocked river threatening to cause flooding. Some homes that survived the initial collapse are now reportedly submerged.

Environmental experts pointed to multiple causes, including a weakened mountainside and local permafrost melt due to climate change. Christian Huggel, professor of environment and climate at the University of Zurich, explained that the warming Alps have destabilized rock formations, with permafrost degradation playing a key role in the collapse. He emphasized that the destruction seen in Blatten has no precedent in modern Swiss Alpine history.

Mud and rockfall demolishes homes in the village of Blatten, Switzerland, on Wednesday

The region had already been under close observation due to heightened glacier activity, with a major increase in movement recorded from Tuesday night into Wednesday. Authorities had evacuated most residents and even a herd of 52 cows, fearing a potential collapse. Unfortunately, those fears materialized in the most extreme way.

In recent years, glaciers across the Alps have retreated at alarming rates. In 2022 and 2023, Swiss glaciers lost about 10% of their volume—equivalent to the loss sustained between 1960 and 1990. Snow coverage across Switzerland’s glaciers was 13% below the 2010–2020 average by the end of this past winter, according to glacier monitoring experts.

Mud and rocks slide down a mountain after a glacier partially collapsed covering most of the village of Blatten, Switzerland May 28

This tragedy follows similar rockslide threats in other Swiss regions. In 2023, residents of Brienz were evacuated twice due to a looming collapse that ultimately spared the village. A recent incident at Rimpfischhorn, a 4,199-meter peak near Zermatt, further highlights the growing dangers in Alpine areas, where five skiers were recently found dead on a glacier following an avalanche.

Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter expressed her condolences and urged citizens to avoid the affected area as emergency crews worked to stabilize the region. “It’s terrible to lose your home,” she wrote on social media, voicing solidarity with the people of Blatten as recovery and search efforts continue under dire conditions.

Many homes in the Alpine village, normally home to 300 people, were destroyed and one person is currently missing, officials said