Human Bones and Macabre Secrets Unearthed in Switzerland's Melting Glaciers

TOPSHOT-SWITZERLAND-GLACIER-FEATURE-CLIMATE

TOPSHOT - A couple hold their hands while walking on the melting Tsanfleuron Glacier above Les Diablerets on August 6, 2022. - Following several heatwaves blamed by scientists on climate change, Switzerland is seeing its alpine glaciers melting at an increasingly rapid rate
(Photo : Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)

Record-breaking temperatures in the Alps have led to discoveries of more 'unexpected' macabre secrets in early August.

Hikers have been finding human remains and objects amid Switzerland's melting glaciers. The local police reported about 300 cases of people who have gone missing in canton Valais since 1925, of which two-thirds may have disappeared in the mountains or on glaciers.

In recent weeks, more dead bodies have been found in the high mountains as glaciers recede under summer temperatures, Swiss Info reported. Human bones were discovered on the Chessjen glacier in the southern canton of Valais in early August, and another body was found on the Stockji glacier near the resort of Zermatt, north-west of the Matterhorn a week earlier.

Mountaineers also discovered objects such as a wrecked plane that crashed on the Aletsch glacier, trapped in the ice for over 50 years. The parts were discovered on Thursday by a mountain guide which indicated to have come from the wreckage of a Piper Cherokee aircraft under the registration HB-OYL on June 30, 1968.

Expect More Reappearances

As huge ice sheets continue to retreat at an accelerating rate, experts believe that more and more bodies and objects will emerge on glaciers.

"Climate change increases the melting of glaciers and accelerates the movement of a glacier," says Robert Bolognesi, a snow scientist and director of Meteorisk. "So bodies will be directed more quickly towards the bottom of the glacier." With more people hiking in the mountains and crossing glaciers, the numbers are likely to rise.

"There will be many more remains appearing from now on than we have seen in the past," said Bolognesi.

Reappearances in the Swiss glaciers include rare archaeological objects trapped in the ice, such as Neolithic wooden bows and quartz arrowheads. A special archaeological service collects and researches the finds.

The rare finds will be presented in a new exhibition featuring the well-preserved archaeological treasures.

"If you are on a glacier, any piece of wood you find is likely to have been brought there by a human. If the wood looks unusual and like it's been worked upon by man, you should contact the archaeological service about it," declares Pierre-Yves Nicod, an archaeologist and Valais History Museum curator.

Also read: Toxic Mercury Levels in Shark Fins and Meat Pose Health Risk to Health, Especially to Women

The Icewatcher

Hikers and mountaineers are encouraged to report any future findings of unusual objects and remains while out in the mountains or on glaciers. The Valais authorities even developed the Icewatcher app - a mobile phone application that serves this purpose.

With relatively little snowfall on winter, the Swiss Alps have experienced a severe summer heatwave. According to canton Uri's environmental protection service, a vast majority of glaciers in central Switzerland will have totally disappeared by 2090 due to climate change, and around 90% of the Hüfi Glacier in the Glarus Alps mountain range will have melted.

All other glaciers in canton Uri and central Switzerland face a similar fate, the service added.

Scientists predict that Switzerland could face a 3 degrees Celsius temperature increase due to climate change over the next 50-100 years.