Aid teams in Italy are searching for 19 missing people after part of the Marmolada glacier, one of the country’s most famous and visited glaciers, collapsed in a tragedy that environmentalists have linked to the climate crisis.

Therefore, the number of deaths caused by the accident could be much higher than the six confirmed so far.

The collapse took place in the early afternoon Sunday (3) on the glacier that dominates the Marmolada mountain, known as the “Queen of the Dolomites” because it is the highest of this mountain range that crosses Italy’s northernmost mountain range at 3,343. meters height.

In addition to six dead and 19 missing, eight were injured, two seriously. Among the dead are at least three Italian nationals – two of whom were alpine guides, so accustomed to the mountain environment – and one from the Czech Republic.

The missing list includes 11 Italian citizens and eight foreigners. Searches continued throughout the night, including by drones equipped with thermal cameras, but the heat in the area at this time of year makes the search more dangerous due to the risk of new landslides.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Veneto Governor Luca Zaia traveled to Canazei on the outskirts of Marmolada this Monday (4) to accompany rescue operations.

Pope Francis said he was praying for the victims and their families and warned of the climate crisis on the planet. “The tragedies we experience with climate change should encourage us to urgently seek new ways to respect people and nature,” the Pope said on Twitter.

Climate crisis – The accident occurred in the midst of one of the worst droughts in Italy in decades, with severe reductions in the snow cover of the country’s northernmost glaciers due to low precipitation levels.

A scientific study published in mid-June shows that snowfall on the Marmolada glacier at the end of May was 714 millimeters, 50% less than the average for the period. In addition, the glacier has lost more than 80% of its volume over the past 80 years, with estimates suggesting it could disappear before 2050.

Glacial collapses are common during the summer months as there are nothing more than huge frozen rivers flowing down the valley, but these events occur at higher and higher altitudes and earlier and earlier.

“This year is exceptional because of the low precipitation and temperature, causing the melting of the high-altitude snowy ice sheet to occur one to two months earlier than usual. Forecasts tell us we have three more months of heat ahead of us. Climatologist Roberto Barbiero of the Trento State Environmental Protection Agency said. therefore, yesterday’s event at Marmolada may be repeated more often,” he warned.

“The temperature increase in the Alps has already been confirmed by a warming rate that is twice the global average. The glaciers on the Italian peaks are most affected by the drop. [do tamanho] They are exposed to the sun more than the Austrians and Swiss, and the hot air is flowing,” he said.