The village of Saas-Grund is no longer cut off from the world, the army deployed

The village of Saas-Grund is no longer cut off from the world, the army deployed – rts.ch

The Swiss army is deploying troops on Wednesday to the Upper Valais village of Saas-Grund, an area of which was buried this weekend by a torrential lava. In this kind of case, “help can never arrive fast enough”, analyses its president Bruno Ruppen.

The cantonal road has been cleared, but piles of material mixed with mud still cover the sidewalks. Dust flies with every passing car. On both sides of the Triftbach, the river that caused the torrential lava, some cars are barely visible under the piles of rubble, while the hotel in which a German lost his life in the basement, surprised by the rapidly rising waters, is still not accessible.

An area of the Upper Valais village of Saas-Grund was buried this weekend by torrential lava. [RTS – EMILIEN VERDON]

“The army will be there to help us clear this area and work on the northern part of the Triftbach. They are coming with a large team and more powerful machines,” explains Saas-Grund President Bruno Ruppen. He is relieved that this support is finally arriving, on the fourth day. “You know, in this kind of situation, help can never come fast enough,” he analyses. He also specifies that he has always been in contact with the canton.

The village of Saas-Grund, with 3,200 inhabitants, has between 12,000 and 13,000 people during the tourist season which begins around July 10. “One death is already dramatic, but the toll could have been much higher,” Bruno Ruppen also notes.

>> Listen to the interview with Bruno Ruppen, President of Saas-Grund, in La Matinale:

The access road to Saas-Grund (VS) has reopened: interview with Bruno Ruppen / La Matinale / 54 sec. / today at 06:21

“Still months”

Around 11pm on Saturday, the Triftbach burst its banks, collecting trees, rocks and mud in its wake. In a few minutes, around 100,000 cubic metres of rubble, the equivalent of 10,000 full trucks, tumbled into the village, the president estimated on Wednesday in La Matinale on RTS.

On Saturday evening, in just a few minutes, around 100,000 cubic metres of rubble, the equivalent of 10,000 full trucks, descended on the village of Saas-Grund. [RTS – EMILIEN VERDON]

“We have already cleared thousands of cubic metres, pumped water from houses and cellars. We have made good progress, but we are far from finished, it will take months,” explains Bruno Ruppen. On site, a hundred people have been mobilised since Sunday to get the village out of the mud. Among them, firefighters and civil protection officers, but also businesses and residents.

The president estimates the damage at between 50 and 100 million francs. This mainly concerns buildings and road infrastructure. The drinking water network and sewers have not been affected. And 80% of the municipality has access to electricity, he also lists.