Bodies of Climbers Who Vanished 34 Years Ago Found on Melting Glacier in Swiss Alps
DNA testing formally identified the remains of two mountaineers who disappeared in 1992 after a hiker found them on the glacier.
- On Wednesday, the Valais cantonal police confirmed that DNA testing identified two Belgian climbers whose bodies were discovered on the Trift Glacier 34 years after they vanished in the Swiss Alps.
- In September 1992, the two men set out from the Weissmies hut aiming to climb the 4,017-metre Weissmies summit, reaching the Almagell hut before being caught by bad weather during their ascent.
- A hiker reported finding the remains on July 26 in Saas-Grund, prompting a recovery operation that transported the bodies to the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the Valais Hospital in Sion.
- Climate change is accelerating the melting of Alpine glaciers, causing the ice to release human remains trapped for decades and leading to the discovery of several missing mountaineers in the region.
- The Valais cantonal police maintain a list of missing persons dating back to 1925, primarily concerning individuals lost in high mountains or rivers. Last year, another mountaineer who vanished in 1994 was found on the Ober Gabelhorn.
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57 Articles
The melting of the Trift glacier has returned the bodies of two mountaineers who disappeared in the Swiss Alps 34 years ago. The discovery was reported last July 26 by a hiker in southern Switzerland, near the Italian border. The bodies were transferred to the Institute of Legal Medicine of the Valais Hospital in Zion for identification. "A direct comparison of DNA profiles formally established that they were two mountaineers who disappeared in …
They are two Belgians, aged 39 and 41, and a 22-year-old Italian.
Once again, the glacial melt has exposed human remains in Valais. According to the authorities, these are two Belgians who have been missing since 1992.
A tourist in Switzerland in July discovered the bodies of Belgian climbers who disappeared in 1992 on the melting Trift Glacier. Their identities were confirmed by DNA analysis on Wednesday.
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