By The newspaper
Aug 24, 2023, 00:40 AM EDT
An alpine guide stumbled upon the remains of a man who had been missing for more than 20 years on a rapidly melting glacier in the Austrian province of Tirol.
The body was found at an elevation of about 9,500 feet on the Schlatenkees glacier in East Tyrol, the BBC reports.
A backpack found near the body contained identifying elements, such as a bank card and a driver’s license. To recover the body, authorities used a helicopter due to the difficult terrain of the glacier.
Authorities suspect the deceased was a 37-year-old Austrian man who suffered a tragic accident in 2001. DNA tests are currently underway to confirm the man’s identity, shedding light on this decades-old mystery.
The body of an Austrian mountaineer, who had disappeared decades ago, was found in the Schlatenkees ice, at an altitude of 2,900 meters.
The find was made in a layer of ice, where the man’s belongings were. pic.twitter.com/auleshjfPX– NeuronaSV (@NeuronaSV) August 23, 2023
The Schlatenkees Glacier, recognized as one of the fastest melting glaciers in Austria, has suffered substantial losses. The Austrian Alpine Club’s 2021/2022 report highlighted that the glacier suffered a significant recorded loss of 89.5 meters during that period.
Surprisingly, this discovery is not an isolated incident. According to the BBC, the Austrian Alpine Club previously reported an alarming reduction in the size of glaciers, with the year 2021 marking a record for glacier melt.
This observation is particularly worrisome, as it represents the most substantial glacier shrinkage since the Alpine Club’s measurement history began in 1891.
This summer, a series of similar findings emerged in rapidly shrinking alpine glaciers. In June, human remains and bones were found on the same glacier in the Venediger group of mountains, also located in Tyrol.
These remains are believed to have been hidden within the Schlatenkees Glacier for decades, prompting ongoing DNA analysis to determine their origin.
Christian Viehweider, a police spokesman, highlighted the unusual frequency of such discoveries in a short period of time. He also revealed that approximately 45 people missing in the Austrian Alps since 1964 are still missing.
Switzerland, another alpine region struggling with the effects of climate change, has seen comparable revelations. In July, a German climber who disappeared in 1986 was found on a glacier near Mount Matterhorn.
The remains of that climber were discovered by climbers traversing the Theodul Glacier above Zermatt. DNA analysis confirmed the identity of the German climber, whose disappearance had paralyzed search and rescue efforts for 37 years.
Keep reading:
· They discover the body of a climber who disappeared in a Swiss mountain in 1986 due to its melting
Melting glacier reveals bodies and debris from a 1968 plane crash in the Swiss Alps
· Everest: the corpses that are being exposed with the melting of the glaciers