Tragic Floods and Landslides Hit Southern Switzerland

Four people died and two are missing in Switzerland due to violent thunderstorms and melting snow which led to flooding and landslides in Ticino and Valais cantons. Rescue efforts are ongoing amidst challenging conditions including submerged bridges and evacuation of people by helicopter.

Four people died and two were missing in Switzerland on Sunday after violent thunderstorms and melting snow caused flooding and landslides in two southern cantons, police said. Three of the victims were killed early on Sunday in a landslide in the remote Maggia valley, in the Italian-speaking Alpine canton of Ticino, police said in a statement.

The three bodies were recovered in the Fontana area of the Maggia valley and they were currently being identified, while another person was missing in the Lavizzara side-arm of the valley, Ticino authorities said. A bridge downstream of the disaster area in the Maggia valley was submerged, complicating rescue efforts, they added.

One camp site in the valley has been evacuated by helicopter and 300 people at a local soccer tournament would soon also be evacuated by helicopter, police said. In the southwestern Swiss canton of Valais, police said a man was found dead in a hotel in the Alpine town of Saas-Grund. Police said he was likely surprised by flooding as melting snow compounded violent thunderstorms.

They added that another man was missing in another region in the Valais canton.

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