23.02.2026 13:24
The ski village of Leukerbad, located in the Swiss Alps, came close to being wiped off the map due to a massive avalanche that occurred at midnight. Tons of snow cascaded over the village in seconds. Moments when the avalanche swallowed the houses in seconds were captured in footage shared by the local police.
A ski village located in the Swiss Alps came close to being wiped off the map due to a massive avalanche disaster that occurred at midnight. Tons of snow broke off from the mountain and flowed over the village in seconds.
In the horrifying footage captured by security cameras, the snow mass can be seen rushing down the mountain at great speed and completely engulfing the village. The avalanche affected the village of Leukerbad, located in the southwest of Switzerland. The village is situated at the foot of Rinderhorn Mountain.
The footage clearly shows the snow flowing like a flood between the houses, quickly covering roads and buildings. The dense snow cloud that formed in a short time rendered the village invisible.
Although the local police described the incident as a "controlled avalanche," the resulting scene caused great fear. The images shared by the police captured moments when the avalanche swallowed houses in seconds. During those moments, the camera footage turned a yellowish color due to the heavy snow.
A witness named Nicole, who was at home during the incident, described the horror they experienced with the following words:
"We were looking out the window. Suddenly, we saw a massive avalanche coming. The children were very scared, but we tried to calm them down."
Due to heavy snowfall and strong winds, a level 5 avalanche alert, the highest level, was issued for the village of Leukerbad. Authorities stated that the weather conditions in the area are extremely dangerous and that the avalanche risk continues.
This incident occurred after extreme weather conditions that have affected Europe in recent weeks. So far, at least 86 people have lost their lives in the avalanche disasters, including four British citizens.
Recently, another avalanche in Switzerland's Valais region caused a passenger train to derail. In that accident, five passengers were injured.
This year, the highest number of fatalities in Europe occurred in France. While 25 people lost their lives in France, 21 in Italy, and 14 in Austria. In Switzerland, 9 deaths were reported, along with 8 in Spain, 4 in Slovakia, 3 in Slovenia, and 1 in Andorra.
According to experts, the majority of the fatalities occurred among those skiing off-piste or in mountainous, uncontrolled areas. It is noted that the new snow has caused the weak layers of snow underneath to collapse, leading to the formation of avalanches.
A similar disaster occurred in Italy as well. A second avalanche fell at the Courmayeur ski resort within two days. A few days earlier, two skiers had lost their lives in an avalanche in the same area. Footage shared on social media captured moments when skiers were trying to escape from the avalanche.
Meanwhile, in another avalanche disaster in California, USA, eight skiers from a group of 15 who went on a three-day nature trip were found dead. Six people were rescued, while one person is still reported missing.
Authorities continue to issue warnings about the ongoing avalanche risk in both Europe and the USA.