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AN AVALANCHE SPARKED by the collapse of the largest glacier in the Italian Alps killed at least five people and injured eight others on Sunday, an emergency services spokeswoman has said.
The glacier collapsed on the mountain of Marmolada, the highest in the Italian Dolomites, near the hamlet of Punta Rocca, the route normally taken to reach its summit.
The disaster struck one day after a record-high temperature of 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) was recorded at the glacier’s summit.
“An avalanche of snow, ice and rock hit an access path at a time when there were several roped parties, some of whom were swept away,” emergency services spokeswoman Michela Canova told AFP.
“Unfortunately, five people were found lifeless,” she added, saying that the eight injured “remain a provisional count”.
Two of the injured were taken to hospital in Belluno, another in a more serious condition was taken to Treviso and five to Trento, she said.
“The total number of climbers involved is not yet known,” Canova added.
She did not specify the nationalities of the victims.
Helicopters were scrambled to take part in the rescue operation and to monitor the situation from the air.
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Rescuers in the nearby Veneto region of northeast Italy said they had deployed all their Alpine teams, including sniffer dogs.
Further collapses feared
Images filmed from a refuge close to the incident show a mix of snow and rock hurtling down the mountain’s slopes and causing a thunderous noise.
Other footage shot by tourists on their mobile phones showed the greyish avalanche sweep away everything in its path.
Experts quoted by the Corriere della Sera daily said they feared further collapses of ice.
The Marmolada glacier is the largest in the Dolomites mountain range, which is part of the Italian Alps and situated on the northern face of Marmolada.
The glacier in the autonomous Italian province of Trento feeds the Avisio river and over looks Lake Fedaia.
According to a March report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), melting ice and snow is one of 10 major threats caused by global warming, disrupting ecosystems and infrastructure.
The IPCC has said glaciers in Scandinavia, central Europe and the Caucasus could lose between 60 and 80 percent of their mass by the end of the century.
The traditional way of life of people such as the Sami in Finland’s Lapland, who raise reindeer, has already been affected.
Thawing permafrost is also hampering economic activity in Canada and Russia.
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@Fergus Quinlan: pictures tell a thousand words, pictures are the inconvenient truth for Kremlin mudguards, nonetheless soldier on they do defending Russian depravity…
@Fergus Quinlan: Glory to Ukraine. They are brave people. Being invaded by such large army and still resisting is inspiring. Slava… Down with Putlers dictatorship and fascism.
Putin took off Minsk agreements (Russia did not comply with) off the table on 24 Feb when he sent 150k troops across the border around Ukraine, nit just Donbas region. He was hoping for a quick victory, like in Crimea 8 years ago. That did not happen. Slowly, Ukraine gets an upper hand (with western support) and sanctions strangle Russian economy. Ukraine constantly seeks negotiations with Russia, even sending messages to Putin via intermediaries. Yet Russian officials say they will only negotiate if Ukrainian army put their arms down, and strongly encourage to do this asap. Surrender is not an option for Ukraine, it is a fight for its freedom. “Those who trade freedom for a piece of security will end up without freedom nor security”
Reports that Zelensky dismissed ambassadors in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Norway and India as well as Germany . No reason given yet.
Either their countries are not providing enough aid, are not abiding fully by the sanctions or the ambassadors are not towing the Zelensky line.
Ireland already has some medical deserts - and it’s been getting worse
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