New crack in Italy glacier after deadly collapse

A new giant crack appeared on Sunday on the Marmolada glacier in northern Italy, two weeks after a deadly avalanche of ice and debris killed at least 11 people when a huge chunk of the glacier broke loose.

The 200 metre long and 25 metre deep crack was spotted by the Alpine rescue service from a helicopter after a local Alpine guide reported a loud roar.

A chunk of the glacier cleaved off on July 3, sparking an avalanche that sent torrents of ice, rock and debris down the mountainside onto unsuspecting hikers below.

Experts had said warming temperatures likely contributed to the cleaving, since the glacier has lost mass and volume for years and has been melting more quickly than usual this summer amid a heat wave, possibly destabilizing it.

Polar sciences experts at an Italian government-run research centre have estimated that the Marmolada glacier could disappear entirely in the next 25-30 years if current climatic trends continue.

Between 2004 and 2015, the glacier lost 30% of its volume and 22% of its area.