Long-Lost Bodies From 1968 Plane Wreck Emerge From Melting Glaciers in Switzerland

Mountaineers discovered two sets of human remains and the wreckage of a 1968 aircraft accident trapped below snow and ice this summer, thanks to the thawing of glaciers in the Swiss Alps. They are a few of the most recent artifacts discovered on a warming planet.

French climbers discovered bone remains on the Chessjen glacier in the southern Swiss canton of Valais on Aug. 3. Dario Andenmatten, warden of a mountain lodge where many hikers begin their ascents, told The Guardian that the person passed away "sometime in the 1970s or '80s."

A different set of hikers found another body on the Stockji glacier, close to a ski resort in late July. Luc Lechanoine, one of the two hikers who found the body, told Swiss newspaper Blick that the individual was wearing '80s-style attire, and the remains were somewhat damaged and mummified.

Reports mentioned that police are still trying to identify both sets of remains.

Officials acknowledged that there weren't many technological options for recovering airplane wreckage in challenging terrain during disaster over 50 years ago.

"Due to the melting of glaciers, especially in summer, it is therefore possible that other pieces or pieces of wrecks may be released from the ice. In case of discovery, these elements must not be manipulated to avoid any risk of injury," police said in a statement.

It is anticipated that experts will find further discoveries in the upcoming weeks. According to Planet Ski, August typically sees the greatest glacier melt and there is no indication of an end to the hot summer weather.

Melting Glaciers

An increasing amount of data indicates that many glaciers in the Alps, like other glaciers worldwide, are softening and retreating due to climate change.

It is not the first time melting glaciers have uncovered artifacts and bones. The 52 service members who died in a military transport plane accident in Alaska in 1952 (per CBS News) are the subject of a 10-year search by the Hawaii-based Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command.

Gregory Berg, the forensic anthropologist who led the team that examined the remains that emerged from the retreating glaciers, told reporters at a news briefing in 2013 (via Reuters) that more material rises to the surface due to glacier melting and movement.

William Taylor, an archaeologist at the University of Colorado Boulder, said melting ice has lately revealed delicate, previously frozen artifacts in western Mongolia and Norway, including old tools, rope, spears, and arrows. Taylor wrote The Conversation that scientists have a limited time to protect these items before they are harmed or deteriorate due to weather and environmental exposure.

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