Further missing person reports during Swiss floods

Floods have caused devastation in Switzerland. Keystone / Michael Buholzer

Fears are growing for three more people, including a father and son, who went missing in Switzerland during a period of flooding in the last few days.

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Severe floods south of the Alps have already resulted in one fatality after triggering a landslide in canton Graubünden. Two other people, who were reported missing on Sunday, still haven’t been found.

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On Monday, three other people were reported missing in the Bernese Oberland, including a father and his child who fell into the Giessbach Falls on Lake Brienz at the weekend. Despite a major search operation, they remain missing.

There has also been no sign of a woman also fell into a stream in Lenk, canton Bern.

The Giessbach Falls on Lake Brienz is a popular tourist destination. A family was hiking with two small children when, according to the Bern cantonal police, a child and the father fell into the Giessbach Falls for “reasons that have yet to be clarified”.

The report was received shortly before 4.30pm on Sunday. After the alarm was raised, the rescue services began an extensive search. Several helicopters and boats were used to search for the missing people, but to date there has been no success.

Distraught mother

A reader-reporter from the newspaper Blick was nearby at the time of the incident. “The mother was completely distraught,” he said. The woman kept screaming: “Where can I find my family?”

The reader-reporter also told the newspaper that a police officer on the scene told him that the missing man had left the paved path and was very close to the waterfall when he fell. When asked, police did not want to provide any details about the incident.

According to the Bern police, a woman is also currently missing. She fell into the Iffigbach river while out for a walk on Saturday near the town of Lenk in Simmental. She was with a companion. It is still unclear why the woman fell into the water.

In addition to numerous patrols and the maritime police of the Bern cantonal police, several firefighters, helicopters and members of Swiss Alpine Rescue with canyoning specialists were involved in the search operations.

The care team of the canton of Bern was also on duty to look after the people affected.

Translated from German by DeepL/mga

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