The body of one of the people missing after torrential floods in southeastern Switzerland was found on Sunday, police said, while operations continue to find two other people.
Thunderstorms and very heavy rainfall caused floods and landslides on Friday evening in the Mesolcina valley, an Italian-speaking mountain region in the canton of Graubünden.
The village of Sorte was particularly affected, with several houses and vehicles swept away, showing a devastated landscape.
“Not long ago we found a body,” operations manager William Kloter of the Graubünden cantonal police told a news conference in a nearby village.
It is a man, he said, indicating that the body had been carried by water for more than eight kilometers.
One of the four missing people was found alive, but injured, in rock slides on Saturday morning and transported to Lugano hospital.
After being interrupted overnight, search operations resumed on Sunday, in the hope of finding the two other people still missing.
But as time passes, “the probability of finding them alive is low,” noted Mr. Kloter.
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, who is Italian-speaking, also participated in the press conference.
“Today is a sad day (…) and that is why I am here to bring the solidarity of the Federal Council (government) in this difficult moment,” he said.
“I think especially of those who are waiting for news” of people who are still missing, he added.
Due to this bad weather, several roads and a section of highway are cut due to this bad weather.
The minister assured that the authorities were doing what was necessary to “restore north-south traffic as quickly as possible” because these roads “are particularly popular in summer” by vacationers.
