A catastrophic glacier collapse in the Swiss Alps has buried much of the village of Blatten under a torrent of ice, rock, and mud, leaving one person missing and the community reeling from unprecedented destruction.
According to Reuters, the deluge occurred on Wednesday after a massive portion of a glacier in the canton of Valais broke loose, sweeping millions of cubic metres of debris into the Loetschental valley. The collapse followed weeks of geologic instability and warnings of an impending disaster. Authorities had evacuated the village’s 300 residents on May 19 due to fears that the crumbling mountainside above the glacier could trigger a large-scale slide.
Mud and rocks cover a village after a glacier collapse, in Blatten, Switzerland, May 28, 2025, in this screen grab taken from a video. KEYSTONE-SDA via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. SWITZERLAND OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN SWITZERLAND
“We’ve lost our village,” Blatten’s mayor, Matthias Bellwald, told reporters. “The village is under rubble. We will rebuild.”
Drone footage broadcast by Swiss national broadcaster SRF revealed the extent of the devastation: a vast plain of sludge and boulders blanketing approximately 90% of Blatten, engulfing homes, infrastructure, and the river that runs through the valley. Shattered timber from destroyed buildings was strewn across the muddy terrain.
“An unbelievable amount of material thundered down into the valley,” said Matthias Ebener, a spokesperson for local authorities, confirming that one person remains unaccounted for. Officials have yet to release further details about the missing individual.
Mud and rocks cover a village after a glacier collapse, in Blatten, Switzerland, May 28, 2025, in this screen grab taken from a video. KEYSTONE-SDA via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. SWITZERLAND OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN SWITZERLAND
A dramatic video circulating on social media captured the moment the glacier partially collapsed, sending a massive plume of debris and dust billowing into the air as the slide rushed toward the village.
Experts remain cautious in pinpointing a single cause, but the role of climate change is under scrutiny. Christian Huggel, professor of environment and climate at the University of Zurich, noted that local permafrost, which helps bind the mountain rock, has been destabilized by warming temperatures.
“While multiple factors contributed to the disaster, climate change likely played a part,” Huggel said, adding that the destruction in Blatten is without precedent in the Swiss Alps in modern history.
Mud and rocks cover a village after a glacier collapse, in Blatten, Switzerland, May 28, 2025, in this screen grab taken from a video. KEYSTONE-SDA via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. SWITZERLAND OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN SWITZERLAND
The event has drawn national attention. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter extended her support to affected residents and urged people to avoid the area as emergency services secured the site and closed the main road into the valley.
“It’s terrible to lose your home,” she wrote on X.
