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WEATHER

Ticino lakes threaten to burst banks after rain

After almost a week of heavy rain, lakes in Ticino, the Italian-speaking canton in the south of Switzerland, are threatening to burst their banks, the federal office of the environment warns.

Ticino lakes threaten to burst banks after rain
Aerial view of Lake Maggiore. Photo: Alessandro Vecchi

The department this week issued a level-three warning for flooding for lakes, which threatened to become critical as of Thursday.

Although for the moment only a few footpaths were under water as of Wednesday, further rain overnight was expected to heighten the danger.
 
The water level of Lake Maggiore. the largest lake in the canton, straddling the Italian border, was within 0.4 metres of triggering flooding, the ATS news service reported.

The Corriere del Ticino newspaper reported on its website that parts of the waterfront in Locarno were under water.

Water rose above containment barriers and submerged the Peace park, while areas of the waterfront normally accessible to the public were closed as a precaution, the newspaper said.

The danger level has passed, however, at Lake Lugano where water levels have already begun to drop.

Ticino has experienced heavy rainfall since last Friday.

The precipitation has amounted to more than 330 litres per square metre in some regions of the canton, ATS reported.

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SKIING

Two skiers killed in Swiss avalanche

Two cross-country skiers have been killed in an avalanche near the plush resort of Klosters in southeast Switzerland, police said Saturday.

Two skiers killed in Swiss avalanche

The accident happened on Friday, the Graubunden regional police said.

“In the Schintersiten area they took a slope with a steep gradient,” a police statement said.

“Several avalanches broke out and dragged the two men about 200 metres down the rocky terrain.

“As a result, both the 54-year-old and his 57-year-old companion, both of whom lived in the canton of Bern, were fatally injured.”

The Graubunden public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation alongside the cantonal police.

Before Friday’s accident, 12 people had lost their lives in avalanches in Switzerland since October 1 last year, according to statistics from the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research.

A total of 142 avalanche-related accidents have occurred, with 188 people swept away.

Earlier this month, six cross-country skiers went missing in a storm near the southern luxury resort of Zermatt. The group, aged 21 to 58, included five members of the same family.

Five bodies were recovered and the search for the sixth person was ultimately called off.

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