A LARGE MASS of rock slid down a mountainside above a Swiss village that was evacuated last month, stopping just short of the settlement, authorities have said.

Brienz, in the south-eastern Graubuenden region of Switzerland, was evacuated on 12 May after geology experts warned that the Alpine rock looming over the village could break loose.

In recent days, local officials said rock movements on the slope were accelerating.

Much of the rock mass tumbled toward Brienz between 11pm and midnight, the local council said.

It added that there was no evidence of damage to the village and the rockslide stopped just short of it, leaving a “metres-high deposit” in front of the school building.

It was not immediately clear how much of the 1.9 million cubic metres of rock that had been at risk of breaking away actually came loose, but the local council said it appeared to be a large part of the material.

Authorities stepped the alert level up another notch after the rockslide as a precaution, closing some roads and a railway line and evacuating two houses in the neighbouring village of Surava.

The rockslide came just over a week after residents of Brienz were allowed to make their first visits back to the village since the evacuation to retrieve essential items from their houses.

Only two people per household were allowed in for 90-minute visits.

Officials said at the time of the evacuation that residents would be able to return from time to time, depending on the risk level, but not stay overnight.