On 24 June 2025, human remains were recovered in Blatten, the Valais mountain village largely destroyed by a catastrophic landslide on 28 May 2025. The discovery was made during a targeted search operation, according to a statement from the Valais Cantonal Police.
Then on 26 June 2025, the local police confirmed that the identity of the remains were of a 64-year-old man who went missing on 28 May 2025.
An excavator operator discovered the lifeless body on Tuesday during search and cleanup operations. According to police, he was at his stable in the Tennmatten area.
On 28 May 2025, around 9 million cubic metres of rock and glacial ice swept down the mountainside, engulfing much of the village. Though around 300 residents were evacuated in time, search efforts have continued for the last remaining unaccounted-for individual.
Operations in the Tennmatten area of Blatten have been conducted in phases, each approved by the cantonal authorities and carried out in secured sections of the debris field. The remains were located in a previously defined sector of the two-kilometre-long debris cone, which measures up to 400 metres wide and 200 metres deep.
The landslide ranks among the most severe natural disasters in Switzerland in recent years.
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