Six people are dead, eight are injured and at least 17 people are missing after a massive chunk of the Marmolada glacier in northern Italy broke away on Sunday, causing a deadly avalanche of snow, ice and rock, investigative sources said on Monday.
Two of the deceased have not yet been identified.
Three of the victims are Italian and one is Czech, sources said.
Rescuers worked throughout the night looking for survivors with the help of drones.
Experts have linked the current heat wave that has hit Italy to the disaster, saying it has made the glacier unstable, with temperatures reaching 10°C at 3,000m above sea level, something that was unthinkable only a few years ago.
Scientists say more frequent and intense heat waves are a result of climate change caused by human activity.
"Temperatures have been well above normal levels for days and last winter there as not much snow, which basically no longer protects the glacier," said Renato Colucci of the National Research Council's Polar Science Institute (Cnr-Isp).
"This probably produced a large quantity of melted water at the base of that piece of glacier".
Premier Mario Draghi on Monday is visiting Canazei, in the northern province of Trento, where rescue operations are being coordinated from, along with Civil Protection Department Head Fabrizio Curcio.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Monday called Province of Trento President Maurizio Fugatti and Veneto Governor Luca Zaia to express his sympathy to the victims' families and support for the communities affected, the head of State's office said.
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