VIDEO: Blatten flattened - the aftermath of Swiss glacier collapse
The Swiss village was partially destroyed by an avalanche of ice and sludge.
FILE: The municipality of Blatten in the Lötschental in the canton of Valais, Switzerland in the year 2007. Picture: Johannes Löw via Wikimedia Commons
International news correspondent Adam Gilchrist joins 702’s Bongani Bingwa for the World View.
Listen below:
A glacier in the Swiss Alps broke off on Wednesday, sending an avalanche of ice and sludge over the village of Blatten.
According to The Guardian, around 90% of the village is either covered or destroyed.
The village's 300 inhabitants were evacuated a few days before the collapse, when it became clear the event was imminent.
🔴 Effroyables images depuis la Suisse, tournées ce mercredi après-midi… Des millions de mètres cubes de glace et de roche viennent de détruire le village (évacué) de Blatten [CH], dans le Valais…🇨🇭(©PomonaMedia) pic.twitter.com/BCxH7ywv5T
— Météo Franc-Comtoise (@MeteoFrComtoise) May 28, 2025
The moment a glacier collapsed on the village of Blatten, Switzerland, yesterday. pic.twitter.com/zUBZ2y4wF8
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) May 29, 2025
Gilchrist reports that one person is missing.
The mayor of Blatten promised that the village does have a future and will rebuild.
“I like the optimism, but when you see a village buried under rubble, debris, ice and water... you wonder how on earth they can come back from that?”
- Adam Gilchrist, International News Correspondent
Here’s a before & after view after the village of Batten in Switzerland was destroyed by a glacial collapse.
— Met4Cast. (@Met4CastUK) May 29, 2025
Fortunately, the town had been evacuated long before disaster struck.
Climate change likely had a role in this. pic.twitter.com/1fqFnslu5v
I’m surprised what’s happened in Switzerland isn’t a bigger story.
— Met4Cast. (@Met4CastUK) May 29, 2025
An entire town wiped off the map by a glacier collapsing, likely as a direct result of our warming climate.
This is like something out of a disaster movie.pic.twitter.com/dhN84pVCBZ
Scroll up to the audio player for more.