“The bodies of two people were found by rescuers” after a landslide in the Fontana region, in the north-east of the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino.
Two people have died in a landslide caused by torrential rains that have hit much of the Alpine country since Saturday. A third person is missing, police in the canton of Ticino said on Sunday. “The bodies of two people were found by rescuers in connection with the landslide that occurred in the Fontana area” in the northeast of the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, according to a police statement, which specifies that identification is underway.
A call to evacuate homes near the Maggia River was issued early Sunday morning for residents of Prato-Sornico and the Maggia Valley. Roads are closed and campsites along the river have been evacuated, the cantonal police said. In addition, a bridge was washed away by the waters, blocking the cantonal road.
Several valleys close to the Maggia valley are no longer accessible and the electricity has been cut off. Part of the canton also finds itself without drinking water, according to the federal alert system Swissalert.
Evacuation of several hundred people
A large part of Switzerland has been crossed since Saturday afternoon by violent thunderstorms accompanied by very heavy precipitation. Further west, overflows of the Rhône and its tributaries, swollen by torrential rains and melting snow, forced the evacuation of several hundred people and the closure of numerous roads, according to local authorities in Valais.
Many other roads are closed in Valais. In Zermatt, Visp once again got out of bed, according to images broadcast on the social network X during the night. We see the muddy waters rushing down the streets of this famous mountain resort at the foot of the Matterhorn.
Heavy rains had already caused flooding in the same places in the city on June 21.
