Blatten (dpa -AfX) – According to the government, the damage after the devastating glacier abortion, which has buried the Swiss village of Blatten among themselves, could amount to several hundred million francs. In a first step, the government will provide fifth million francs (CHF 5.3 million) as an immediate aid, said the Swiss Federal President Karin Keller-Sutter. The Canton of Valais gives ten million francs as immediate help.
“For people, the situation that has lost their belongings is unbearable,” said Environment Minister Albert Rösti. They need moral and financial support. Farmers would have lost their courtyards and usable areas, entrepreneurs their hotels, employees their jobs. It is still unclear whether and when the mountain will slip again, says Rösti.
At the end of May, a gigantic ice, rock and rubble avalanche had rolled into the valley. The 300 residents of Blattens had previously been evacuated as a precaution. However, a 64-year-old shepherd, who had probably stayed in a stable at the time of the accident, is still missing. The rubble cone in the village is sometimes around 100 meters powerful.
There are considerations to rebuild the village at a different, safe place, said Rösti. The decision about a possible restart is demanding. “We want to give people a future in the Lötschental. For us, the valleys are not an option,” continued the Environment Minister. The buried blatts could not be returned to humans. “The mountain devoured,” said Rösti. Whether people accepted a new location is their decision./Mrd/dp/stw