Swiss glacier collapses, destroys nearly all of Alpine village. Watch wild video

A massive glacier collapsed in Blatten, Switzerland, destroying nearly all of the village.

A huge mass of a Swiss glacier collapsed on Wednesday, leaving nearly all of an Alpine village destroyed. As rocks and chunks of ice crashed into the valley, plumes of dust went skyward. In a now-viral footage of the incident, the village of Blatten can be seen covered almost entirely in mud. Although residents had been evacuated days ago prior to the disaster, one person has been reported missing.

Mud and rocks slide down a mountain after a glacier partially collapsed covering most of the village of Blatten, Switzerland May 28, 2025, in this screen grab taken from a handout video. Pomona Media/Handout via REUTERS

Swiss glacier collapses, leaves nearly all of Alpine village destroyed

Clips and photos of the Swiss glacier collapse that have been making rounds on the internet show the mudslide near Blatten in Lötschental, the largest valley on the northern side of the Rhône valley in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. According to the local police, a 64-year-old man was reported missing following the disaster, per Associated Press. The authorities began rescue operations involving a drone and thermal camera.

Stephane Ganzer, the head of security in the southern Valais region, told local TV channel Canal9, “About 90% of the village is covered or destroyed, so it’s a major catastrophe that has happened here in Blatten,” adding, “There’s a risk that the situation could get worse.” In the wake of the incident, the regional government said that a large chunk of the Birch Glacier collapsed, causing the landslide in Blatten. A nearby Lonza River bed was also buried, which has raised the possibility of dammed water flows.

Blatten's mayor, Matthias Bellwald, addressed the disaster, saying that “the unimaginable has happened.” “We have lost our village, but not our heart. We will support each other and console each other. After a long night, it will be morning again.” On May 19, 300 inhabitants of the now-destroyed village were forced to evacuate after the geologists monitoring the area issued a warning about an impending disaster, as the glacier had become unstable, per BBC.