Two people are dead and another is missing in the Maggia Valley in Switzerland after a landslide overnight from Saturday to Sunday.
The roads are closed, the campsites have been evacuated, and the search continues to try to find those who are missing.
Two people have died and one is still missing in the Maggia Valley, the largest valley in Italian-speaking Switzerland, in the canton of Ticino in southeastern Switzerland, after a landslide triggered by torrential rains that have hit much of the Alpine country since Saturday, police said on Sunday.
Major storms “caused a landslide in the Fontana region (northwest of the canton) and people were reported missing,” wrote the police of the Italian-speaking canton in a press release, without providing further details.
Call to evacuate
Rescue operations are particularly difficult due to poor weather conditions, the source said.
An appeal to evacuate homes near the Maggia River was launched early Sunday morning for residents of Prato-Sornico and the Maggia Valley, where searches are continuing.
The roads are cut and the campsites located along the river have been evacuated, according to the cantonal police. In addition, a bridge was swept away by the waters blocking the cantonal road.
Several valleys near the Maggia Valley are no longer accessible and electricity has been cut off. Part of the canton is also without drinking water, according to the federal warning system Swissalert.
Violent storms hit the country
A large part of Switzerland has been crossed since Saturday afternoon by violent thunderstorms accompanied by very heavy precipitation.
Overflows of the Rhone and its tributaries, swollen by torrential rains and melting snow, have forced the evacuation of several hundred people and the closure of many roads, according to local authorities in Valais (southwest).
The country has already experienced violent storms and exceptional rainfall over the weekend, causing at least one death and significant damage in the south-east of its territory.
