20 still missing – Four fatalities identified after glacier collapse

Among them are German and Romanian citizens, the rescue service said. More dead are likely to be found. The bodies recovered so far have been dismembered by ice, rocks and debris. That’s why DNA tests are scheduled for Monday, which will compare the genetic data with that of family members. A man and a woman have yet to be identified. An autopsy may be required.

16 cars found
The parked vehicles also provide a clue in identifying the dead and missing. Checks on the roads of the Fedaia pass and in the parking lots around the lake, from where the hiking trails to the Marmolada start, revealed that the owners of 16 cars could not yet be reached. The license plates are now matched with the accommodation bookings in the area. “At the moment we do not know whether the cars belong to the six dead or the missing. We will find out today from the reports that will reach us,” said Trentino president Maurizio Fugatti.

Little hope for survivors
Checks are also being made on the side of the mountain in the province of Belluno, as people may have also climbed from this slope. “We have little hope of finding the missing alive,” admitted Raffaele De Col, Trentino’s director of civil defense. Search and rescue work on the Marmolada was interrupted Sunday evening because there was a risk that more ice blocks would break off. Drones continued. The entire area around the glacier is currently closed to the public.

The high temperatures of recent weeks are believed to be responsible for the accident. On Saturday a temperature record of ten degrees was measured on top of the mountain, the average temperature has been around seven degrees in recent years. The Marmolada Glacier is the largest in the Dolomites.