Blatten landslide (News 2026, by Jean-Christophe Bott) - Swiss Press Award
Jean-Christophe Bott
A aerial view captured one day after a massive avalanche, triggered by the collapse of the Birch Glacier, shows the destruction it caused as it swept down to the valley floor and demolishing the village of Blatten, Switzerland, Thursday, May 29, 2025. A large part of the village of Blatten, located in the Loetschental Valley in the canton of Valais, was buried under masses of ice, mud, and rock. Numerous houses were destroyed, and one person is missing. Between May 19 and 28, several million cubic meters of rock fell from the Kleines Nesthorn mountain above Blatten. This created a nine-million-tonne debris cone on the Birch Glacier, which ultimately collapsed on May 28, 2025. (KEYSTONE/Jean-Christophe Bott)
RTS
Photo / News
2026
Jean-Christophe Bott
On the afternoon of Wednesday, May 28, part of the Birch glacier above Blatten (in Valais) broke off. Millions of cubic meters of rubble, ice and water broke away, covering the small upper Valais village in less than a minute.
