Alpinists found human bones last Wednesday on the Chessjen glacier in the southern canton of Valais, the Blick newspaper reported on Monday. A week before, another body was found on the Stockji glacier near the resort of Zermatt.
In both cases the process of identification of the remains is still underway, a Valais cantonal police spokesman confirmed to the Keystone-SDA news agency.
External Content
The spokesman said the usual procedure is to first examine any objects found along with the remains, to get an idea of how far back the case might date. If possible, DNA testing can then be carried out.
Police in Valais maintain a list of some 300 cases of people gone missing since 1925. As glaciers melt, the remains of people disappeared decades ago can emerge from the ice. In 2012, the remains of three brothers were found on the Aletsch glacier; they had disappeared in 1926. And in 2017, the remains of a couple missing since 1942 appeared on the Tsanfleuron glacier in Valais.
Last week, debris from a plane that had crashed in 1968 was found on the Aletsch glacier by a mountain guide.
More
More
Debris from 1968 plane crash found on Swiss glacier
This content was published on
Parts of a plane that crashed in 1968 have been found on the Aletsch glacier by a mountain guide.
This content was published on
In the Swiss Alps, a melting glacier has revealed crystal tools made by hunter-gatherers. Now archaeologists are examining what they left behind.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Mummified bodies found in Swiss glacier
This content was published on
The frozen remains of a Swiss couple have been found in a glacier in Switzerland. They were farmers who went missing 75 years ago.
This content was published on
On March 4, 1926, four young men failed to return from their ski tour on the Aletsch Glacier in the Bernese Alps. According to eyewitness accounts the group – three of whom were brothers – set off in the afternoon to Konkordiaplatz where three smaller glaciers converge to compose the Aletsch Glacier. This was the…
Bodies of Japanese climbers identified after 45 years
This content was published on
Forty-five years after two Japanese climbers died reportedly attempting the difficult north face of the Matterhorn, their remains have been found at the foot of the glacier and formally identified thanks to DNA samples, the Valais police has said.
This content was published on
The skeletons were found on Thursday on the glacier, all within a radius of 50 square metres, according to Markus Rieder, police spokesman for Valais cantonal police. Also found in the area were pieces of clothing, binoculars, a pocket watch, a tobacco pipe, snowshoes, wooden walking sticks and a leather wallet containing coins worth SFr9,…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.