Italian glacier collapse: 6 people killed in massive avalanche in Marmolada

At least 6 people have been killed and 10 ors reported missing after being caught in a massive avalanche triggered by collapse of Marmola glacier in norrn Italian Alps. As many as 8 people have also sustained grave injuries after y were dragged down by sliding mountainside after Alpine glacier broke loose. snow and rock came sweeping down on Marmola mountain, which is highest in Italian Dolomites region- 3,300 m above sea level- near Punta Rocca hamlet. tragic incident struck hikers while y were en route to summit.

roped parties were hit by avalanche of snow, ice, and rocks at time y were climbing upward, said Alpine rescue Corps told Associated Press. detached section is called pinnacle of ice or serac. Temperatures were around 10C when disaster struck- which is highest ever recorded at glacier's summit. Two out of eight injured were immediately moved under medical care due to life-threatening wounds, local media reports said.

Rescue workers scurried to disaster location immediately to retrieve victims and monitor furr developments. Alpine teams from nearby Vento region were immediately deployed with sniffer dogs to locate missing mountaineers, emergency services said in a tweet, ding that y believed re were 15 hikers in troop. Italian PM, who recently attended G7 Summit, expressed "sincerest condolences" to kins of those who were killed in mishap.

Watch: Video captures exact moment of avalanche

Videos captured by onlookers showed a deluge of snow, ice, and rock that overran popular route to summit. A number of hikers were rope climbing when large chunk came hurtling down slopes, causing a rumbling noise. greyish semi-solid mix of ice and soil streamed down rocky terrain as alert hikers moved away to save ir lives. Watch videos here:

'Clearly something abnormal'

It was immediately unclear as to what caused tragic fall of glacier. Although a rescue service spokesperson of region, Walter Milan, while speaking to Italian state TV suggested that unusually high temperatures in Norrn Alps could have sparked avalanche. " heat is not usual...that's extreme. Clearly, it is something is abnormal," he told publication. An Italian mountaineer Reinhold Messner told La Republica newspaper that glacier was in fact receding for over several years now due to global warming. "It is global heat which causes glaciers to melt ...re is hardly any ice left," he told paper. Notably, an intense heatwave has been gripping Italy since late June.

(Image: AP)