The bodies of two Belgian mountaineers who went missing in the Swiss Alps more than three decades ago have been found, officials said.
Late last month, a hiker discovered human remains that had been revealed following the melting of the Trift glacier, south of the city of Lucerne, prompting a recovery operation, the regional government said on Wednesday.
DNA tests conducted at a Valais hospital determined that the remains were those of two Belgian hikers, aged 39 and 41 at the time, who went missing near the Weissmies mountain — dozens of kilometres to the south in 1992.
Local police have a database of people listed as missing dating back to 1925, primarily in high mountains and rivers.
The aftermath of the Birch Glacier collapse is visible in Blatten, Switzerland, 2025. Credit: AP
Similar discoveries have become more frequent as Switzerland’s glaciers have melted at an increasing rate.
Three years ago, DNA tests confirmed that a body found on a Swiss glacier near the Matterhorn was that of a German mountaineer who disappeared in 1986.
Many scientists blame global warming for a recent surge in glacier melt in Switzerland and beyond.
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