1 dead, 2 missing and A13 washed out after landslide

The hunt is still on for two people that remain missing after a landslide that washed away a large section of autoroute in canton Graubünden over the weekend.

One body has now been recovered – and police say they don’t believe the other two remain alive.

Heavy rain on Friday night triggered a massive landslide in the Mesocco valley. A 200-meter long section of the A13 has been washed away – and several nearby houses were hit.

It will take weeks to rebuild the road- and the impact could be felt across the country. 

The route is a main north/south artery and there are not many alternatives through the mountainous area.

The Federal Roads Office says it will take weeks, even months, to rebuild the road. Although a single-track route could be reopened earlier. 

The closure will mean other Alp crossing points are likely to be busier – such as the Gotthard and Lötschberg tunnels. It could also have an effect on supply lines. Normally 350 trucks use the route everyday.

 

 

More from Bitesize News

  • Geneva could foot the G7 bill

    Geneva fears it will be left with the security bill from a G7 summit just across the border in Évian, according to 24 heures.

  • US NGO discovers Swiss child abuse cases

    Switzerland relies too heavily on an American NGO to detect child sexual abuse online, raising questions about the country's ability to protect children on its own.

  • French singer banned by Paleo

    The Paléo Festival in Nyon says it will no longer invite French singer Patrick Bruel, after a former volunteer accused him of inappropriate behaviour.

  • Cars going uninspected

    The cantons are struggling to keep up with mandatory vehicle inspections, leaving more than 550,000 checks overdue nationwide.

  • War may lead to rent rises

    Rents may rise again, says the bank Raiffeisen.

  • Not a heatwave, yet

    Summer has arrived, with temperatures climbing past 30 over the long weekend. Basel reached 31 and Sion hit 32.4, but MeteoSwiss, says this does not yet count as an official heatwave.

Download our app

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play