Search for missing bodies ends in Gondo

The search for the bodies of three people still missing after a mudslide swept through the canton Valais village of Gondo nearly three weeks ago, has now been called off.

Rescue workers who have been sifting through the rubble in Gondo believe the bodies were washed down the Doviera River and are somewhere on the other side of the Italian border.

The search is now being pursued along the Italian part of the Doviera River. No bodies were found upriver in Switzerland.

A total of 13 people died when a mudslide cut through Gondo on October 14.

Reconstruction work will start in the next few days. It will be carried out by civil protection teams and private companies.

New water mains will also have to be installed before winter, according to Josef Escher, spokesman for the crisis group.

If all goes well, the survivors whose houses weren’t destroyed by the mudslide will be able to return home at the end of the month.

The road between Iselle in Italy and Gondo remains cut. The Simplon Pass is also blocked on its south side between Simplon Village and Gondo.

swissinfo with agencies