SUEM said the avalanche consisted of a "pouring down of snow, ice and rock." The detached section is know as a serac, or pinnacle of ice.ĭubbed the "queen of the Dolomites," Marmolada rises about 3,300 meters (about 11,000 feet) and is the highest of the 18 peaks in that eastern range of the Italian Alps, offering spectacular views of other Alpine peaks. Some of those making the trek in the area where the avalanche barreled through were tied together by rope, according to local emergency services.īut Milan said some of the hikers might be able to get down by themselves, including by using the peak's cable car. 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. In early evening, a light rain began to fall.
Rescuers said blocks of ice were continuing to tumble down. Temporarily, the search by helicopter and dogs for any more victims or missing was halted for the night while rescuers evaluated the risk that more of the glacier could break off, Walter Cainelli, after conducting a rescue mission with a search dog, told state television. The fast-moving avalanche "came down with a roar the could be heard at great distance,'' local online media site said. Of the hospitalized survivors, two were in grave condition, authorities said. Nationalities or ages of the dead weren't immediately available, Milan said. "We saw dead (people) and enormous chunks of ice, rock,'' exhausted-looking rescuer Luigi Felicetti told Italian state TV.
experts as a "climate change hot spot," likely to suffer heat waves and water shortages, among other consequences. The Mediterranean basin, shared by southern Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa, has been identified by U.N. RELATED: 'Oh my God, Titanic 2.0!' Video shows cruise ship hit iceberg near Alaskan glacier But the glacier has been rapidly melting away in recent years.Įxperts at Italy’s state-run CNR research center, which has a polar sciences institute, says the glacier won't exist anymore in the next 25-30 years and much of its volume is already gone. The glacier, in the Marmolada range, is the largest in the Dolomite mountains in northeastern Italy and people ski there in the winter. ( Photo by Pierre Teyssot/AFP via Getty Images) In this case, it is completely natural and should not be used as any form of evidence for climate change.This photograph taken on Jfrom Canazei, shows the ice serac that collapsed on the Marmolada, near Punta Rocca, killing six people. The more people hear, the easier it is for them to ignore it. While many of them are true, eventually it becomes a double edge sword. One of the biggest problems is that many things are thought to be caused by climate change. However, large scale events like this one are much rarer.Īn event of this scale only occurs every 60-70 years. In fact, over 40,000 icebergs break off from their glaciers each year. It is normal to see multiple smaller events throughout the year. If they did not have a calving event, then glaciers would continuously grow. Once the weight reaches a certain point, the ice becomes too heavy to support itself. The reason this occurs is from glacier balance thanks to the weight it gains from snowfall. That chunk is then referred to the ocean as an iceberg. The Calving process is a natural phenomenon that occurs when a chunk of ice breaks off a glacier. A lost ship will not only result in lost cargo but also the crew. To further highlight how important this is, remember that 90% of the world’s trade travels by sea. It is imperative that icebergs are properly tracked so that ships can travel without worry.Īnd of course, this iceberg will be tracked because it is a major hazard to ships due to its large size. If you have seen “Titanic,” you probably already know that icebergs are a hazard for ships.
This type of behavior is perfectly natural and takes a long time to occur. The team tracking this iceberg has been doing so since as early as 2002.
In fact, it is completely natural for icebergs to break off of the Antartic shelf. While your first instinct may be to blame climate change, this is actually not related. To put this into perspective, this is slightly larger than twice the size of New York City. A massive iceberg measuring the size of 610 square miles has broken off of the Antartic shelf.