The remains of two Belgian hikers who disappeared more than three decades ago in the Swiss Alps have been recovered, authorities in Switzerland said.
The discovery was made on July 26 by a hiker crossing the Trift Glacier, a valley glacier in Switzerland, after melting ice exposed the bodies, regional police in the canton of Wallis said in a statement Wednesday. The find prompted an official recovery operation.
DNA testing later confirmed the remains were those of two mountaineers reported missing in 1992 in the Weissmies mountain area, according to police.
The men, both Belgian citizens, were 39 and 41 years old when they vanished roughly 34 years ago, officials said.
Their remains were transported to the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Valais Hospital in Sion, where specialists carried out the identification process.
The case adds to a growing number of long-missing alpine hikers being found as climate change accelerates glacier melt, CBS reported.
“As glaciers retreat, it is becoming increasingly common for the remains of people who disappeared in the mountains several decades ago to emerge,” police said in their statement.
A similar discovery was reported in 2023, when Swiss police said the remains of a German hiker who had been missing for nearly 40 years were uncovered on the Theodul Glacier in the southern Alps as the ice receded.
