J607-SUIZA DERRUME GLACIAR

STORY: A huge chunk of a glacier in the Swiss Alps broke off on Wednesday (May 28), causing a deluge of ice, mud and rock that buried most of a mountain village that had been evacuated due to the risk of a rockslide, authorities said.

One person is currently missing, officials said.

A video shared on social media showed the dramatic moment when the glacier partially collapsed, creating a huge cloud that covered part of the mountain as rock and debris came cascading down towards the village of Blatten.

Reuters was able to independently verify the location by the trees and shape of mountains which match file and satellite imagery. Location was also confirmed with the source and Reuters own reporting on the glacier collapse. The date when the video was filmed was verified by original file metadata.

Stephane Ganzer, an official in the canton of Valais where Blatten is located, told Swiss media that about 90% of the village was covered by the landslide.

Officials said millions of cubic metres of rock and soil have tumbled down since Blatten was first evacuated this month when part of the mountain behind the glacier began to crumble, sparking warnings it could bring the ice mass down with it.

Buildings and infrastructure in Blatten, whose roughly 300 inhabitants were evacuated on May 19 after geologists identified the risk of an imminent avalanche of rock and ice from above, were battered by the rockslide, officials said.