2022 Marmolada serac collapse
Date3 July 2022
LocationMarmolada, Italy
CauseSerac collapse
Deaths11
Non-fatal injuries8
The glacier Ghiacciaio della Marmolada in 2013, Punta Rocca glacier with crack

On 3 July 2022, a serac collapsed on the mountain of Marmolada, in the Dolomites at the regional border between Trentino and Veneto, Italy. Eleven people were killed and eight were wounded. The large-scale collapse of the serac led to one of the most serious accidents in the Alps in recent decades. The seismic energy released was comparable to an earthquake of 0.6 M.[1]

Background

Prior to the collapse the area had seen an early heat wave, with the summit of the Marmolada recording abnormally high temperatures of around 10 °C (50 °F). The collapse occurred near Punta Rocca at the height of 3,309 metres (10,856 ft), a route utilized by climbers to reach the top peak.[2]

Description

On the afternoon of Sunday 3 July, around 13:45, a massive avalanche was triggered by a serac that collapsed due to the high temperatures,[3][4] which reached 10 °C the day before the tragedy.[5] At an elevation of 2800 metres, the lower end of a glacier snapped off. The break-off had a width of about 80 metres and a height of 25 metres. The detached volume was estimated to be 65,000 ± 10,000 cubic meters.[6] The seismic energy released was comparable to an earthquake of 0.6 M.[1]

The ice and rock masses fell several hundred metres down the northern slope onto the hiking trail passing below to the summit and on to just before the Fedaia reservoir about 1.5 kilometres away. The hiking trail was heavily frequented due to the time in the early afternoon of a summer Sunday.[citation needed]

Factors leading to the event

The mountain rescuers described the event as an extraordinary incident that could not be compared to a normal avalanche. According to initial assumptions, the extremely high temperatures of the previous days were a factor leading to the accident. On the summit of the mountain, 10 °C had been measured the day before the accident. In addition, much less precipitation than usual had fallen in the previous winter, so the glacier lacked an insulating layer of snow as protection against the sun and the high temperatures. Reinhold Messner saw the accident as a consequence of climate change:"In recent years, a lake has repeatedly emerged on the tongue of the glacier. And this year in the summer this lake has arisen again and then obviously - no one has seen it - through a hole this water flowed under the tongue and from all sides at these hot July days the water has come in under the glacier." Glaciologist Christoph Mayer also assumed that meltwater had penetrated the glacier and accumulated underneath it, ultimately serving as a lubricant [7] This was later confirmed in scientific publications.[1]

In an initial assessment, glaciologist Georg Kaser also assumed the same.[citation needed]

Rescuers used thermal drones to search for possible survivors shortly after the collapse with survivors being flown off the mountainside by helicopters.[8]

Victims

At least five distinct rope teams were involved in the collapse, which killed eleven mountaineers and injured eight more. Nine of the victims (six men, including two mountain guides, and three women) were Italian (all but one hailing from Veneto), two were Czech.[9][10][11] Six bodies were recovered in the immediate aftermath of the collapse, a seventh on the following day,[12] two more three days after the collapse, and a further two on the fourth day.[13][14] The remains of the eleventh and final victim were identified through DNA testing on 9 July.[15][16]

Name Nationality Age Notes
Filippo Bari  Italy 27 From Malo. Formed a rope team organized by the Malo section of the Italian Alpine Club along with Dani, Zavatta, and survivor Riccardo Franchin.[17]
Liliana Bertoldi  Italy 54 From Levico Terme. Formed a rope team with survivors Laura Sartori and Davide Carnielli.[18]
Erica Campagnaro  Italy 45 From Tezze sul Brenta. Wife of Davide Miotti. Formed a rope team with Miotti, Piran, and Gallina.[19]
Tommaso Carollo  Italy 48 From Thiene. Was climbing with his wife, Alessandra De Camilli, who survived.[20]
Pavel Dana  Czech Republic 47 Was climbing with Ouda.[21][22]
Paolo Dani  Italy 52 From Valdagno. Mountain guide. Formed a rope team with Bari, Zavatta, and survivor Riccardo Franchin.
Gianmarco Gallina  Italy 32 From Montebelluna. Formed a rope team with Miotti, Campagnaro, and his girlfriend, Emanuela Piran.[19]
Davide Miotti  Italy 51 From Tezze sul Brenta. Mountain guide, husband of Erica Campagnaro; formed a rope team with Campagnaro, Gallina, and Piran.
Martin Ouda  Czech Republic 48 Was climbing with Dana.
Emanuela Piran  Italy 33 From Bassano del Grappa. Formed a rope team with Miotti, Campagnaro, and her boyfriend, Gianmarco Gallina.
Nicolò Zavatta  Italy 22 From Barbarano Mossano. Formed a rope team with Bari, Dani, and survivor Riccardo Franchin.

Eight injured mountaineers, six Italians and two Germans, were rescued at the site of the disaster and hospitalized in the hospitals of Trento (a 27-year-old Italian man, a 29-year-old Italian woman, a 33-year-old Italian man and a 51-year-old Italian woman[23]), Treviso (a 30-year-old Italian man), Feltre (a 67-year-old German man[23]), Belluno (a 58-year-old German woman)[24] and Cavalese, two of whom were in critical condition.[25][26][27][28]

Aftermath

Veneto regional governor Luca Zaia, reported that the Alpine rescue unit shared an emergency number for people to call if their loved ones had not returned from excursions on the mountain.[2]

The day after the accident, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi visited the town of Canazei, where the rescue forces' operations centre was located. President Sergio Mattarella and other senior politicians expressed their condolences, and Pope Francis responded with a call to "find new ways conscious of humanity and nature" in the face of climate change.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Bondesan, Aldino; Francese, Roberto G. (15 June 2023). "The climate-driven disaster of the Marmolada Glacier (Italy)". Geomorphology. 431: 108687. doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2023.108687. ISSN 0169-555X.
  2. ^ a b Hassan, Jennifer (4 July 2022). "Ice avalanche kills 6 in Italian Alps, sparks mass rescue effort". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Marmolada glacier collapse in Italy kills seven". BBC. 3 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Marmolada, Draghi: 'Lavorare perché non accada più'. Si cercano ancora 14 persone, 4 trovate vive". Ansa (in Italian). 4 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Chi sono le vittime e i dispersi del crollo alla Marmolada". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 4 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Estimation of Marmolada glacier collapse volume using Pléiades imagery". Séries Temporelles. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  7. ^ Vogt, Ernst (18 December 2022). "Bergsteigen und Klimawandel - Das Risiko klettert mit". Deutschlandfunk Kultur (in German). Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Italy: Rescue workers search for survivors of glacier collapse | DW | 04.07.2022". DW.COM. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Tragedia sulla Marmolada, un manager friulano tra le vittime: identificati gli altri corpi, tutti i nomi". Messaggero Veneto. 7 July 2022.
  10. ^ Marmolada: il manager, il commesso e la guida. Le vittime e l'ultimo selfie prima del disastro
  11. ^ "Tragedia della Marmolada, i due corpi identificati sono di Martin Ouda e Pavel Dana: lasciano 6 figli. Si cerca ancora il 22enne Nicolò Zavatta". il Dolomiti. 8 July 2022.
  12. ^ Giuffrida, Angel (4 July 2022). "Italian glacier collapse: rescuers hampered by thunderstorms". the Guardian. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  13. ^ "Marmolada, trovati con i droni i corpi di due dei cinque dispersi: in corso le operazioni di recupero". La Repubblica. 6 July 2022.
  14. ^ Trento, Redazione (8 July 2022). "Marmolada: Martin Ouda e Pavel Dana, ecco i nomi dei due turisti della Repubblica Ceca".
  15. ^ "Marmolada, il bilancio definitivo: trovata l'undicesima vittima". Rai News. 9 July 2022.
  16. ^ "Tragedia della Marmolada, anche Nicolò Zavatta vittima della tragedia. La conferma del Ris: I deceduti sono 11. Non ci sono elementi per pensare ad altri dispersi". il Dolomiti. 9 July 2022.
  17. ^ "Riccardo, sopravvissuto alla Marmolada: «La valanga ci ha investiti. I miei compagni morti o dispersi»". www.leggo.it. 5 July 2022.
  18. ^ "Marmolada, migliora la ragazza di Pergine ricoverata al Santa Chiara - Cronaca | l'Adige.it". l'Adige.
  19. ^ a b "Emanuela e Gianmarco, la cordata a quattro e il tragico epilogo: «Non ci sono più speranze»". 6 July 2022. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Marmolada: lei sopravvissuta, lui è morto, la moglie scrive al marito «Ti amo per sempre» - Montagna | l'Adige.it". l'Adige.
  21. ^ Solution, Horydoly cz, Next Generation. "Zřícený ledovec na Marmoladě zabil mnoho turistů". www.horydoly.cz.((cite web)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ "Foreign Ministry Confirms Two Czechs Died in Avalanche in Italian Dolomites". 5 July 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Tragedia della Marmolada, dimesso uno dei feriti (il paziente tedesco di Feltre). Zaia: Il trentino Davide resta in prognosi riservata". il Dolomiti. 9 July 2022.
  24. ^ "Marmolada: dimessa la paziente tedesca ricoverata a Belluno". euronews. 10 July 2022.
  25. ^ "Marmolada: 17 dispersi, 6 morti accertati e 8 feriti - Trentino AA/S". Agenzia ANSA. 4 July 2022.
  26. ^ "La tragedia sulla Marmolada: le vittime, i dispersi e i feriti veneti. Il punto". RaiNews. 5 July 2022.
  27. ^ "Gravi ma non in pericolo di vita i trentini salvati in Marmolada - TGR Trento". TGR. 4 July 2022.
  28. ^ Carcassi, Pierfrancesco (7 March 2022). "Crollo sulla Marmolada, si stacca una torre di ghiaccio: salgono a sei le vittime. «Ci sono persone disperse»". Corriere del Veneto.
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