The victims have not yet been identified but are believed to belong to the same group of climbers, according to Italian media reports. Wednesday’s announcement brings the death toll in the tragedy to nine. Three people remain missing for three days after a mass of ice broke off a glacier, sending an avalanche of ice, rock and debris plummeting down a hillside and onto a popular hiking trail. Eight people were injured, two seriously. As relatives questioned whether the glacier, which has been melting at an accelerated rate for the past decade, should have been closed, Trento prosecutor Sandro Raimondi, who opened an investigation into whether there was any negligence, said on Wednesday that it appeared the avalanche could not be predicted. “The unpredictability of this event is the star,” he said. “To have a liability you have to be able to foresee an event, which is very, very difficult.” The victims identified so far are: Filippo Bari, 27; Tommaso Carollo, 48; Paolo Dani, 52; and Liliana Bertoldi, 54. Carollo’s partner, Alessandra De Camilli, was among those treated in Trento. “I love you Tommaso, always and forever,” she wrote on Facebook. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every weekday morning at 7am Rescuers are searching the area with drones and sniffer dogs, although the operation has been hampered by storms. The mayor of Canazei, the town in Trentino closest to the glacier, and leaders of other towns in the region have closed Marmolada. However, some hikers have ventured onto trails on its lower slopes, while curious visitors descend to a mountain refuge from which the site of the avalanche can be seen in the distance. Known as the Queen of the Dolomites, Marmolada has lost more than 80% of its volume in the past 72 years, and Italian scientists warned in 2020 that the glacier could disappear within 15 years due to global warming. The heatwave that has gripped Italy since mid-May, as well as a warmer-than-usual winter and light snowfall, are believed to have contributed to the avalanche.
