BONDO, Switzerland (AFP) - Eight people were still missing on Thursday (Aug 24) after a massive landslide swept away a mountainside in the Swiss Alps, ripping apart buildings and forcing the evacuation of a village.
The landslide, which struck on Wednesday, sent mud, rocks and dirt flooding down the Piz Cengalo mountain into the outskirts of the village of Bondo, near the Italian border.
About 100 people were evacuated, some airlifted out by helicopters.
Police confirmed that eight hikers, from Germany, Austria and Switzerland had been in the region of Val Bondasca where the landslide occurred and were missing.
There had been fears about another six people who had been unaccounted for, but Graubunden police spokeswoman Chiarella Piana later told AFP they had been found safe on the Italian side of the border.
No children were believed to be among the missing, Ms Andrea Mittner of the Graubunden police told a news conference.
Images showed an unstoppable mass of thick mud and sludge moving down the mountainside like lava, tearing up trees and demolishing at least one building in its path, and partially engulfing others.