Alpine village is largely destroyed when a Swiss glacier collapses

GENEVA (AP) — A huge mass of rock and ice from a glacier thundered down a Swiss mountainside on Wednesday, sending plumes of dust skyward and coating with mud nearly all of an Alpine village that authorities had evacuated earlier this month as a precaution.

Video on social media and Swiss TV showed the mudslide near Blatten, in the southern Lötschental valley, with homes and buildings partially submerged under a mass of brownish sludge. Regional police said a 64-year-old man was reported missing, and search and rescue operations involving a drone with thermal camera were under way.

“What I can tell you at the moment is that about 90% of the village is covered or destroyed, so it's a major catastrophe that has happened here in Blatten," Stephane Ganzer, the head of security in the southern Valais region, told local TV channel Canal9.

The regional government said in a statement that a large chunk of the Birch Glacier above the village had broken off, causing the landslide which also buried the nearby Lonza River bed, raising the possibility of dammed water flows.

“There’s a risk that the situation could get worse,” Ganzer said, alluding to the blocked river.

He said the army had been mobilized after earlier indications that the movement of the glacier was accelerating.

At a news conference, Swiss Environment Minister Albert Rösti lamented “an extraordinary event” and said the government would take steps to help villagers who lost their homes.

In recent days the authorities had ordered the evacuation of about 300 people, as well as all livestock, from the village amid fears that the 1.5 million cubic meter (52 million cubic feet) glacier was at risk of collapse.

Local authorities were deploying by helicopter and across the area to assess the damage, Jonas Jeitziner, a spokesman for the Lötschental crisis center, told The Associated Press by phone.

Swiss glaciologists have repeatedly expressed concerns about a thaw in recent years, attributed in large part to global warming, that has accelerated the retreat of glaciers in Switzerland.

The landlocked Alpine country has the most glaciers of any country in Europe, and saw 4% of its total glacier volume disappear in 2023. That was the second-biggest decline in a single year after a 6% drop in 2022.

In 2023, residents of the village of Brienz, in eastern Switzerland, were evacuated before a huge mass of rock slid down a mountainside, stopping just short of the community. Brienz was evacuated again last year because of the threat of a further rockslide.

A large avalanche with a mixture of ice, rock, snow and water reach the valley floor is pictured in Wiler after the Birch glacier collapsing above Blatten, Switzerland, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

A large avalanche with a mixture of ice, rock, snow and water reach the valley floor is pictured in Wiler after the Birch glacier collapsing above Blatten, Switzerland, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

A large avalanche with a mixture of ice, rock, snow and water reach the valley floor is pictured in Wiler after the Birch glacier collapsing above Blatten, Switzerland, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

A large avalanche with a mixture of ice, rock, snow and water reach the valley floor is pictured in Wiler after the Birch glacier collapsing above Blatten, Switzerland, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

A large avalanche with a mixture of ice, rock, snow and water reach the valley floor is pictured in Wiler after the Birch glacier collapsing above Blatten, Switzerland, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

A large avalanche with a mixture of ice, rock, snow and water reach the valley floor is pictured in Wiler after the Birch glacier collapsing above Blatten, Switzerland, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

A large avalanche with a mixture of ice, rock, snow and water reach the valley floor is pictured in Wiler after the Birch glacier collapsing above Blatten, Switzerland, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

A large avalanche with a mixture of ice, rock, snow and water reach the valley floor is pictured in Wiler after the Birch glacier collapsing above Blatten, Switzerland, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

Vice President JD Vance said negotiations between the United States and Iran ended early Sunday without a peace deal after the Iranians refused to accept U.S. terms to not develop a nuclear weapon.

The high-stakes talks in Pakistan ended after 21 hours, Vance said, with the vice president in constant communication with U.S. President Donald Trump and others in the administration.

“But the simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon,” Vance told reporters.

The war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets entered its seventh week.

The U.S. delegation led by Vance and the Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf had discussed how to advance a ceasefire already threatened by deep disagreements and Israel’s continued attacks against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Here is the latest:

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar called on Iran and the United States to keep their commitment to maintain a ceasefire, after both countries ended historic face-to-face talks without an agreement.

“It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to ceasefire,” Dar said.

He added that Pakistan will continue to play is mediating role and will try to keep facilitating the dialogue between Iran and the U.S. in coming days.

Vice President JD Vance boarded his government plane at 7:08 a.m. local time in Islamabad, planning to depart Pakistan after he said that Iran declined to back down on developing a nuclear weapon.

That’s according to a reporter traveling with Vance.

The war with Iran started at the end of February and the extensive talks ended after 21 hours. The U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire on April 7 for negotiations.

Vice President JD Vance said negotiations between the U.S. and the Iranians have ended without a peace deal after the Iranians refused to accept American terms to not develop a nuclear weapon.

The high-states talks ended after 21 hours, Vance said, with the vice president in constant communication with President Donald Trump and others in the administration.

“But the simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon,” Vance told reporters. “That is the core goal of the president of the United States. And that’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations.”

Vice President JD Vance walks with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, partially seen on the left, Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir, third left, Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, and Charge d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad Natalie A. Baker, right, before boarding Air Force Two after attending talks on Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

Vice President JD Vance, left, talks to Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir, right, and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, center, before boarding Air Force Two after attending talks on Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

Vice President JD Vance gives a thumb up sign as he boards Air Force Two after attending talks on Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan, Sunday, April 12, 2026, . (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

Vice President JD Vance, second left, shakes hands with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, as Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, left, Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir, third left, and Charge d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad Natalie A. Baker, right, look on, as he prepares to board Air Force Two after attending talks on Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)