Strong storms cause flooding in Switzerland, leaving at least one person dead

VIENNA, Austria. — This Sunday, the Swiss rescue teams The lifeless body of one of three people who went missing on Saturday following heavy storms and rain in the south-east of the country caused a rockfall has been found, Swiss authorities said. The other two are still missing.

A woman was pulled alive from the rubble on Saturday morning.

Swiss Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis (centre) during a press conference alongside Jon Domenic Parolini (left, back), President of the Government of Canton Graubuenden, Christian Vitta (right, back), President of the Government of Canton Ticino, Nicola Cereghetti (left), Mayor of Lostallo, and William Kloter (right), Commander of the Cantonal Police of Graubuenden, in Roveredo, in the Misox valley, southern Switzerland, on 23 June 2024 Credit: EFE/EPA/MICHAEL BUHOLZER

“Today is a sad day,” said Ignazio Cassis, a member of the Swiss Federal Council, who spoke to reporters on Sunday following traveling to the region to express his solidarity with the victims on behalf of the Swiss government.

A team of 200 rescuers has been searching for the missing since Saturday using bulldozers, specially trained search dogs, drones and army helicopters. But the chances of finding them alive are slim, William Kloter of the Swiss police, who is leading the rescue operations, told reporters on Sunday.

Search operations had to be halted overnight due to heavy rain. The rockfall affected a group of three houses in the municipality of Lostallo in the Misox Alpine valley in Grisons.

Swiss authorities also reported that a section of the Swiss A13 motorway heading towards Italy had been completely submerged and destroyed by flooding. The main transit route between the key San Bernardino pass and Roveredo in Graubünden is likely to remain closed for several months.

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