34-year mystery: Climbers' bodies found on melting glacier in the Swiss Alps

The bodies of two Belgian climbers who disappeared in the Swiss Alps 34 years ago have been found after being exposed by the melting Trift Glacier. DNA identification confirmed they were two men aged 39 and 41 who vanished in the Weissmies area in 1992. Police reported that receding glaciers are repeatedly revealing remains of missing persons from the mountains.

The bodies of two Belgian climbers who disappeared in the Swiss Alps 34 years ago have been found after being exposed by the melting Trift Glacier. Police in the Valais canton announced yesterday (Wednesday) that about a month ago, on July 26, a hiker reported two bodies on the glacier in southern Switzerland, near the border with Italy. The bodies were transferred to the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Sion, and DNA comparison confirmed they were two mountain climbers who went missing in the Weissmies area in 1992. The two men were aged 39 and 41 at the time of their disappearance. Police stated they maintain a list of missing persons since 1925, primarily in mountains and rivers, and that receding glaciers repeatedly reveal human remains that disappeared decades ago. The article notes that climate change is accelerating glacier melt, and provides additional examples of bodies exposed in recent years due to glacier melting, including a Swiss climber who disappeared in 1994, a British researcher who disappeared in Antarctica in 1959, and an American climber who disappeared in Peru in 2002.