Swiss authorities warn of glacier collapse, evacuate area

GENEVA: Swiss authorities have evacuated hundreds of people in the alpine glacier area of Trift in the country's south, warning of a possible glacial ice avalanche. "A large serac could collapse at any moment," the police in the canton of Valais said in a statement. A serac is a pinnacle or ridge of ice on the surface of a glacier. Geologists have recently noticed significant movement along the "tongue" of the Trift glacier, most recently up to 130 centimetres (50 inches) in a single day, local authorities said. A collapse would threaten the municipality of Saad-Grund. Authorities have already evacuated 222 people, a police spokesman Simon Bumann told AFP. A glacial collapse could trigger an ice avalanche which could reach the village.