Alpine glacier chunk detaches, killing at least 6 hikers

A large chunk of Alpine glacier broke loose Sunday afternoon and slid down a mountainside in Italy, sending ice, snow and rock slamming into hikers on a popular trail on the peak and killing at least six and injuring eight, authorities said.

It couldn’t immediately be determined how many hikers were in the area or whether any were missing, said Walter Milan, a spokesperson for the national Alpine rescue corps who provided the death and injury toll.

Rescuers were checking license plates in the parking lot as part of checks to determine how many people might be unaccounted for, a process that could take hours, Milan said by telephone.

Nationalities or ages of the dead weren’t immediately available, Milan said. Of the eight hospitalized survivors, two were in grave condition, emergency dispatch services said.

Earlier, the National Alpine and Cave Rescue Corps tweeted that the search of the involved area of Marmolada peak involved at least five helicopters and rescue dogs.

The SUEM dispatch service, which is based in the nearby Veneto region, said 18 people who were above the area where the ice struck would be evacuated by the Alpine rescue corps.

But Milan said some on the slope might be able to get down by themselves, including by using the peak’s cable car.

SUEM said the avalanche consisted of a “pouring down of snow, ice and rock.” The detached section is know as a serrac, or pinnacle of ice.

Marmolada, towering about 3,300 meters (about 11,000 feet), is the highest peak in the eastern Dolomites, offering spectacular views of other Alpine peaks.

The Alpine rescue service said in a tweet that the segment broke off near Punta Rocca (Rock Point), “along the itinerary normally used to reach the peak.”

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The injured were flown to several hospitals in the regions of Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto, according to rescue services.