Emergency services find dead man in river after storm in Misox GR
Published: Sunday, Jun 23rd 2024, 18:20
Back to Live Feed
More than 40 hours after the violent thunderstorm with devastating landslides and flooding in the Misox valley in Graubünden, emergency services found a male body in the Moesa river near Sorte GR on Sunday morning. The search for the two other missing persons has so far been unsuccessful. The traffic situation on the north-south axis is problematic due to the collapsed A13 section.
The authorities announced the discovery of the body on Sunday afternoon at a media conference in Roveredo GR, which was also attended by Ticino's Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis. "It is a sad day," he said. A sad day for the affected municipalities, the cantons of Graubünden and Ticino and for the whole of Switzerland.
The two presidents of the cantons of Graubünden and Ticino also expressed their consternation to the media. "The situation on the ground saddens me and my sympathies go out to those affected", said Graubünden Cantonal Councillor Jon Domenic Parolini. Ticino cantonal councillor Christian Vitta spoke of "difficult moments" and expressed his "very strong thoughts" for the people affected.
This was especially true for the relatives of the man who died under the mass of rubble that fell on Friday evening in Sorte GR, a district of the municipality of Lostallo GR. He and two other people had been missing since the storm, while one woman was rescued alive on Saturday morning.
Body in the Moesa
The search for the missing man was suspended on Saturday evening and resumed on Sunday morning at around 9 am. At around 11 a.m., the Alpine Rescue team finally found the lifeless man in the Moesa River, as William Kloter, head of operations for the Graubünden cantonal police, told the Keystone-SDA news agency.
The river flows a few meters below the three buried houses, the mass of rubble reaching down to the water's edge. The scene was a picture of destruction. The rock piled up over several meters.
The search for the other two missing persons remained unsuccessful until early Sunday evening. The chances of finding them alive were minimal, said Kloter at the media conference. Rescue dogs, drones and helicopters with thermal imaging cameras were deployed. The army also supported the cantonal police in the search for the missing persons.
Kloter himself lives opposite the Moesa and was at the inauguration of the new fire station in Roveredo at the time of the incident, as he told Keystone-SDA. It was there that he learned that two police officers had put themselves in great danger by looking out for people or animals that might be in danger. The police officers were able to escape from their official vehicle at the last minute and could only watch as it was swept away by the floods.
Woman rescued from the intensive care unit
The woman in her mid-70s who was rescued alive on Saturday lived in the middle of the three houses that were swept away. According to Kloter, she was buried under the mass of stones and was able to activate the Rega app on her cell phone.
The injured woman was flown by helicopter to hospital in Lugano. In the meantime, she has been able to leave the intensive care unit, said Kloter. Physically, she was doing well under the circumstances.
Problematic traffic situation on the north-south axis
Since the storm, the traffic situation in the Misox Valley and therefore also on the north-south axis has remained problematic. This is particularly true in view of the upcoming summer vacations and travel traffic as well as the often congested Gotthard highway.
The A13 freeway, the San Bernardino route and normally the alternative route to the Gotthard route, was destroyed by the storm around 7.5 kilometers north of Sorte. The Moesa overflowed its banks and as a result the A13 freeway collapsed over a length of around 200 meters.
If circumstances permit, repair work will begin on Monday, said a spokesperson for the Federal Roads Office at the request of Keystone-SDA. But one thing is clear: the San Bernardino route will be closed for a long time. On Saturday and Sunday, traffic jams over 10 kilometers long formed in front of the north and south portals of the Gotthard tunnel.
Cantonal road for regional traffic
The cantonal road should primarily be used for local and regional traffic, emphasized the President of the Canton of Graubünden at the media conference. "If international traffic also ends up using the cantonal road, then a collapse is more than inevitable," he said. The cantonal road should not be an alternative.
At the media conference, Federal Councillor Cassis said that the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) would do what was necessary to solve the traffic problems on Monday. He had already exchanged views with its head Albert Rösti on Sunday.
The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs will inform neighboring countries adequately about the directives of the Uvek, said Cassis. We will see what is possible.
Following the media conference, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis traveled to Sorte with the cantonal councillors and the head of operations to see the landslide area for himself. He was visibly affected and thanked the head of operations for the immense amount of work being done before returning home. It was important that he was able to come here, said the Federal Councillor. And: "I wish you continued strength." He then made his way back to his polished official car through the dirt and rubble-covered cantonal road.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic