Swiss village Gondo marks 25th anniversary of mudslide disaster

VS: 25th anniversary of Gondo disaster, Valais remembers victims Keystone-SDA

A Swiss memorial mass is being held to mark the 25th anniversary of a devastating mudslide that killed 13 in the village of Gondo.

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The mudlside hit on October 14, 2000 above the small village of Gondo in canton Valais, located on the Simplon Pass.

During a ceremony on Tuesday, a special bell, used only on these occasions, will ring throughout the village.

This year – to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the tragedy – the municipal authorities have decided to organise a special commemorative event to be held on Saturday October 25, 2025.

+ Twenty years on: deadly Gondo mudslide remembered

In 2010, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the landslide, the authorities presented a gift to the helicopter pilot who rescued inhabitants during the disaster: a symbolic gesture of thanks to all the rescue forces that intervened on that occasion.

In addition, on the rock face where the landslide originated, an installation with 13 luminous stars was created in memory of the 13 victims of the landslide.

Cascade of dramatic events

The chronicle of those days is dramatic. Between October 11 and 15, 2000, around 800 millimetres of rain fell on the region. The Upper Valais, in a state of maximum alert, recorded landslides and torrent floods in several places.

Just above the village, some 10,000 cubic metres of sediment and debris accumulated behind a concrete wall. The wall, measuring 15 metres long and 6 metres high, was intended to protect the road from falling stones from the imposing cliff above the village.

The pressure of the debris flow increases and on October 14, three blocks – of 600 cubic metres each – begin to give way. The first remains upstream from the village, the second crashed against the old Stockalper tower, while the third travelled down the slope at over 60 km/h and crosses the entire village until it reaches the Diveria stream, which is now in flood. By 10.30am Gondo was devastated.

The municipalitywas inaccessible, the Simplon road was closed from the pass in the direction of Italy, helicopters were grounded by the weather and the telephone lines were partly cut off. The Italian railway station in Iselle – a few kilometres from Gondo – was flooded and rail traffic was also interrupted.

Victims and missing persons

Guides, search dogs, fire brigades and doctors managed to reach Gondo shortly after midday. Of the 161 villagers, about a hundred were in the village at the time of the disaster. Some 40 of them, who had taken refuge in the civil defence building, were blocked by the flow of earth and stones, but they were all freed by early afternoon.

The rescuers rescued a large number of survivors, but 11 lifeless bodies were also recovered in the days following the tragedy. Two other inhabitants, however, were never found again.

Since then, the rockfall protection wall – funded by the federal government – has been reinforced. In addition, a channel has been dug to evacuate the water in bad weather and prevent it from falling onto the rock face.

For the reconstruction of the village, the Swiss Solidarity collection raised CHF14.5 million.

Translated from Italian with DeepL/mga

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