Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Three missing after landslide in Swiss Alps as heavy rains cause flash floods

The Sorte village in the community of Lostallo in southern Switzerland, after a landslide caused by the bad weather and heavy rain in the Misox valley (Samuel Golay/Keystone via AP)
The Sorte village in the community of Lostallo in southern Switzerland, after a landslide caused by the bad weather and heavy rain in the Misox valley (Samuel Golay/Keystone via AP)

Three people were missing on Saturday after massive thunderstorms and rainfall in southeastern Switzerland caused a landslide, authorities have said.

One woman was pulled out alive after being buried by the landslide in the Alpine valley of Misox in Graubunden.

A rescue operation for the three others is ongoing.

An excavator removes stones from the bed of the Navizence River, which flows into the Rhone, in Chippis, canton Valais, Switzerland
An excavator removes stones from the bed of the Navizence River, which flows into the Rhone, in Chippis, canton Valais, Switzerland (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

The rockslide hit a group of houses in the municipality of Lostallo.

Rescuers have been searching all day Saturday with excavators and specially trained search dogs.

William Kloter, from the Swiss police, who is heading the rescue operations, told local media that he was hoping to find the three missing people alive.

Swiss President Viola Amherd said she was shocked by the scale of the damage caused by the severe weather.

“My thoughts are with those affected. I thank the emergency personnel for their tireless efforts in this difficult situation,” Ms Amherd said on X.

Elsewhere in Switzerland, the popular tourist destination of Zermatt in the southern canton of Valais near the famous Matterhorn mountain remains inaccessible.

Heavy rains and melting snow have caused the Mattervispa River to overflow, cutting off the village.

A car stuck in the mud at Sorte village after a landslide caused by the bad weather and heavy rain in the Misox valley, in Lostallo, southern Switzerland
A car stuck in the mud at Sorte village after a landslide caused by the bad weather and heavy rain in the Misox valley, in Lostallo, southern Switzerland (Samuel Golay/Keystone via AP)

Dramatic videos showed the otherwise small river that flows through Zermatt turning into a muddy flash flood, partially submerging streets in the popular ski resort.

The Matterhorn-Gotthard Railway halted operations with no alternative transportation available, the railway company announced on social media on Saturday morning.

Emergency services in the canton of Valais were on high alert over the levels of the Rhone River, which reached its peak on Saturday.

Authorities have warned residents to avoid lower parts of their houses, including cellars, and keep away from swelling rivers and refrain from parking on bridges.

People were also advised against filming or photographing the floods due to safety reasons.