Swiss glacier collapses

GENEVA: Part of the Swiss alpine glacier Trift in the country’s south collapsed yesterday, but caused no damage or casualties and residents evacuated from the area can return home, police said.

More than 220 people living in the ski resort of Saas-Fee had to leave their homes on Saturday as authorities feared a collapse of the glacier could trigger an ice avalanche which could reach the village.

The lower part of the glacier collapsed early yesterday but did not reach the houses, allowing residents to return and for a local road to reopen, though hiking trails remain closed, police said in a statement.

Geologists had recently noticed significant movement along the “tongue” of the Trift glacier, up to 130 centimetres in a single day, local authorities said.

“There remains only about a third” of the unstable tongue of the Trift glacier, police said.

The glacier had been under observation since October 2014, when the area was closed for three weeks.

With a return to colder temperatures, the situation stabilised and the access ban was lifted. — AFP