Chaos after avalanches

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32562, 23 March 1971, Page 13

Chaos after avalanches

(N.Z. Press Association— Copyright) SUSA( Italy), March 22. Avalanches apparently caused by the warm sirocco wind from the Sahara Desert brought death and communications chaos to Italy, Switzerland and France and left thousands of people cut off in winter resorts.

At least four persons were killed and three others feared dead in North Italy, while in Switzerland a girl climber died as heavy snowfalls at the week* end caused a series of massive slides.

No deaths were reported in areas of central and southern France hit by avalanches and mudslides, but one person was trapped by a landslide which cut a national highway in the French Alps.

Havoc to communications in all affected areas was reported with numerous roads and mountain passes blocked, railway lines cut and telephone services disrupted. In at least one part of Switzerland the Italianspeaking Ticino region—and in many areas of North Italy, the snow was tinged red by sands carried in from the Sahara and the high altitude south-westerly Sirocco wind. Near Susa, in North Italy, little hope was held out today of finding alive three workmen entombed all night under thousands of tons of snow which crashed down on them while they were working on a new motorway tunnel.

Four of their colleagues were dug out alive by rescue teams before driving snowstorms forced the search to be abandoned laite last night. The four confirmed deaths

in the Italian avalanches all occurred on Saturday. North of Imperia, two teen-age girls died when their car was carried away and two holiday-makers lost their lives as an avalanche smashed into a hotel in the small ski-ing resort of Pescegallo. Nearly 4600 tourists were reported isolated at Macugnaga near Verbania but about 400 skiers clambered across piles of snow to escape from Fopolo near Bergamo where they had been trapped since Friday.

Another 600 people, mainly women and children, were unable to make the arduous trip. In Switzerland’s Ticino region, a number of tourist families were trapped in the ski-ing village of Camp Blenio.

In other parts of the Swiss Alps, authorities issued orders putting ski slopes out of bounds amid fears of further avalanches.