After floods in Switzerland: One dead and two missing found

VIENNA – Rescue workers in Switzerland have found the body of one of three people who went missing on Saturday after heavy thunderstorms and rain caused a rockslide in the southeast of the country, Swiss authorities said. The other two are still missing.

A woman was pulled alive from the rubble on Saturday morning.

“Today is a sad day,” said Ignazio Cassis, a member of the Swiss Federal Council, addressing reporters on Sunday after travelling to the region on behalf of the Swiss federal government to express solidarity with the victims.

A team of 200 rescue workers has been searching for the missing people since Saturday using excavators, specially trained search dogs, drones and army helicopters. But the chances of finding them alive are slim, William Kloter of the Swiss police, who is leading the rescue operation, told reporters on Sunday.

Due to heavy rain, the search operations had to be interrupted during the night.

The rockfall hit a group of three houses in the municipality of Lostallo in the Graubünden Alpine valley of Misox.

Swiss authorities also announced that a section of the Swiss A13 motorway towards Italy had been completely submerged and destroyed by flooding. The important transit route between the key San Bernardino pass and Roveredo in Graubünden is expected to remain closed for several months.