After more than 50 years: Alpine glacier releases crashed plane
Created: 06/08/2022 15:26
By: Vincent Fischer
Parts of an airplane wreck were discovered in the ice of the Swiss Aletsch Glacier.
© dpa-Bildfunk
A curious find was made in the Swiss Alps.
A mountain guide discovered parts of a plane wreckage.
The plane crashed in 1968.
Fieschertal - June 30, 1968: A teacher, a doctor and his son embark on a flight over the Swiss Alps.
But they will never arrive at their destination.
Because the Piper Cherokee crashes in the middle of the Valais Alps.
The three bodies are recovered, but the wreckage of the plane cannot be removed due to the limited technical possibilities.
A lot of time passes and the shattered small plane is wrapped in the ice of the Aletsch Glacier.
But now, after more than 50 years, parts of the wreck have surfaced.
This was announced by the Valais cantonal police.
The site is therefore between Jungfraufirn and Konkordiaplatz at an altitude of around 2,800 meters.
A mountain guide has found parts of the Piper Cherokee in the past few days, said Stefan Gafner from the nearby Konkordiahütte of the
dpa
on Saturday.
Plane wreck in the Swiss Alps: climate change does not stop at the Aletsch Glacier
It was known that a wreck was hidden under ice and snow, said Gafner.
The summer melt released remnants in an area of around 40 by 200 meters.
Now the salvage is to be made up for after more than 50 years.
But the innkeeper fears that there are more remains of the wreck hidden under the layer of ice.
“More parts have to come to light,” says Gafner.
Climate change is obviously not stopping at the glaciers in the Alps either, quite the opposite.
The Swiss Alps in particular are affected by global warming.
The glacier melt begins much earlier, the ice mass recedes rapidly.
This increases the risk of flooding in the valley and glacier falls in the mountains.
The wreck could now be rediscovered, probably also due to climate change.
In the video: First heat wave - dramatic glacier melt in the Alps
But that shouldn't be cause for celebration.
The economist Klaus Wiegand, for example, warns of the dramatic consequences of climate change.
"It affects us all.
Right on the doorstep."
said the expert in an interview.
(vfi with dpa)
