A piece of cliff collapses in Valais. The Sierre – Zinal road cut

The main road linking Sierre to Zinal (VS) is no longer passable. A landslide in front of the Pontis tunnel between Niouc and Vissoie occurred during the night from Monday to Tuesday. A diversion is in place via Chalais and Vercorin.

The rockfall occurred at the exit of the tunnel, a spokesperson for the cantonal police told Keystone-ATS. One end of the cliff, which is known to be unstable, has collapsed, adds the head of the mobility department Vincent Pellissier.

“Tomorrow will be worse, a lot of snow is forecast”

The protective nets partly played their role, but blocks ended up on the road. “We now have to go check if other blocks on the cliff are unstable. If necessary, a purge will have to be carried out to secure the road and allow workers to clear it,” he adds.

For the moment, the head of service does not wish to venture into giving a date for reopening the section, due to the bad weather. “The weather is not good today, and tomorrow it will be worse, with a lot of snow having been forecast.”

With this landslide, the Val d’Anniviers is now only accessible by the road passing through Chalais and Vercorin. “The third access has been closed for about a year due to a landslide for which work estimated at 4 million is planned,” recalls Vincent Pellissier.

A truck involved

The Finges road at the exit of Sierre-Est and La Souste is also closed in both directions due to an accident which “occurred around 7:00 a.m.”, indicates the cantonal police.

A truck and several cars are involved. Emergency services are on site, adds the spokesperson who cannot provide further information at the moment.

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