Three more dead were recovered on Wednesday after the devastating glacier avalanche on the Marmolada, the highest mountain in the Dolomites. The bodies of the mountaineers were located using drones and then recovered. They probably all belonged to the same rope team. This raises the death toll to ten. Two people are still missing and eight people were injured.
Four Italians have been identified among the dead, including a 52-year-old mountain guide. He is said to have led one of the two later buried rope teams. A 48-year-old manager from Veneto is one of the victims. His 51-year-old wife survived with numerous fractures and is in hospital. The other fatalities are believed to be non-Italian, but their identities are not yet known.
‘Moral duty to return bodies to loved ones’
According to the rescue units, the chance that the remaining missing people can be rescued alive is extremely low. “We have a moral obligation to return the bodies of the victims to their relatives,” emphasizes Luca Zaia, president of the Veneto region, which includes parts of the Marmolada massif.
Trentino mourns
A day of mourning is planned for Saturday in the Trentino town of Canazei. The Archbishop of Trento, Lauro Tisi, will hold a memorial ceremony in honor of the victims with the pastor of Canazei, himself a member of the Alpine Rescue Service.
In the meantime, monitoring equipment has been installed in the Marmolada hut that can register the smallest changes in the glacier front. The data is sent to a control center for analysis and processing. “The Ice Age collapse was an extraordinary, even a unique event, which is confirmed by many experts. There were also mountain guides on the glacier and therefore people who knew the mountain very well,” said the governor of Trentino, Maurizio Fugatti.
Future red flags as a warning?
The region is currently considering implementing alarm systems for mountaineers. “Red flags on the glaciers that threaten to collapse could help mountaineers make more conscious decisions,” Fugatti said in an interview with La Repubblica daily. We are now waiting for expert reports on this subject.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
