Man and girl missing after car swept away in violent storm in Switzerland
A 37-year-old man and a six-year-old girl remain missing on Monday after their car was washed away during violent storms in the southern Swiss canton of Valais on Sunday.
The man from Geneva and the girl from France were swept away when heavy rains transformed the Losentze River in the commune of Chamoson into a raging torrent. The scale of the flooding can be seen in the tweet below.
CLOSE call with a debris flow in Chamoson, Switzerland today, August 11th! Report: Jérémy Monnet / Météo Mettra - Météo Alpes Suisse France pic.twitter.com/iNQH6hMVI9
— severe-weather.EU (@severeweatherEU) August 11, 2019
Two cars were carried off by the floodwaters. The other car was empty, cantonal police in Valais said in a statement. This second car was found on Monday morning, Swiss media reported.
More than 70 people were involved in the search for the man and the girl during the day on Monday. The search was suspended overnight but was expected to resume early on Tuesday morning.
#lavetorrentiellechamoson - Die Suche nach den beiden vermissten Personen wurde heute Abend um 20:30 Uhr unterbrochen und wird morgen um 07:00 Uhr wieder aufgenommen. Während der Nacht wird das betroffene Gebiet überwacht. Kapo VS.
— Polizei Wallis (@PolizeiWallis) August 12, 2019
However, in a press conference on Monday afternoon, authorities said they did not expect to find the two alive.
The wild weather caused problem across Valais on Sunday. There were over 1,000 calls to cantonal police between 6.20pm and 9pm.
Incidents reported included problems with fallen trees, flooded cellars and damaged roofs. Several roads were also cut because of mudslides. You can view current road conditions on the map here.
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The man from Geneva and the girl from France were swept away when heavy rains transformed the Losentze River in the commune of Chamoson into a raging torrent. The scale of the flooding can be seen in the tweet below.
CLOSE call with a debris flow in Chamoson, Switzerland today, August 11th! Report: Jérémy Monnet / Météo Mettra - Météo Alpes Suisse France pic.twitter.com/iNQH6hMVI9
— severe-weather.EU (@severeweatherEU) August 11, 2019
Two cars were carried off by the floodwaters. The other car was empty, cantonal police in Valais said in a statement. This second car was found on Monday morning, Swiss media reported.
More than 70 people were involved in the search for the man and the girl during the day on Monday. The search was suspended overnight but was expected to resume early on Tuesday morning.
#lavetorrentiellechamoson - Die Suche nach den beiden vermissten Personen wurde heute Abend um 20:30 Uhr unterbrochen und wird morgen um 07:00 Uhr wieder aufgenommen. Während der Nacht wird das betroffene Gebiet überwacht. Kapo VS.
— Polizei Wallis (@PolizeiWallis) August 12, 2019
However, in a press conference on Monday afternoon, authorities said they did not expect to find the two alive.
The wild weather caused problem across Valais on Sunday. There were over 1,000 calls to cantonal police between 6.20pm and 9pm.
Incidents reported included problems with fallen trees, flooded cellars and damaged roofs. Several roads were also cut because of mudslides. You can view current road conditions on the map here.
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