Melting glacier in Swiss alps reveals missing climber's body after 37 years

By Sunita Iyer | First Published Aug 2, 2023, 3:10 PM IST

The body of a mountain climber missing for 37 years was found in a melting glacier in the Swiss Alps, highlighting the impact of climate change on alpine regions.

A shocking discovery was made by climbers hiking along the Theodul Glacier in Zermatt, Switzerland, on July 12. The melting glacier revealed the remains of a mountain climber who had gone missing 37 years ago. The body was sent to the forensic medicine unit at Valais Hospital in Sion, where a DNA analysis confirmed that it belonged to a 38-year-old German climber who had disappeared on the mountain in 1986.

The police released a statement confirming the identity of the missing climber, but they did not provide further details about the circumstances of his death. However, they did publish a photograph of a long hiking boot and crampons emerging from the ice, which had belonged to the deceased.

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"DNA analysis enabled the identification of a mountain climber who had been missing since 1986. In September 1986, a German climber, who was 38 at the time, had been reported missing after not returning from a hike," the police said in a statement.

"The receding glaciers are increasingly bringing in mountaineers, whose disappearance was reported decades ago," the officials added.

The Theodul glacier, like many others in the region, has shown a marked retreat in recent years, leading to the revealing of long-lost artifacts and remains. This is not the first time such a discovery has occurred.

Last year, the wreckage of a plane that had crashed in 1968 was exposed by the melting ice of the Aletsch glacier. In 2015, the remains of two young Japanese climbers who had gone missing during a 1970 snowstorm on the Matterhorn were found, and their identities were confirmed through DNA testing. In 2014, the body of British climber Jonathan Conville, missing since 1979 on the Matterhorn, was also discovered by a helicopter pilot.

The retreating glaciers serve as a reminder of the profound impact of climate change on the environment and how it is reshaping the landscape and exposing the past.

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