An Italian hiker took his final selfie in front of a glacier just minutes before tragedy struck.
Parts of a mountain glacier collapsed in the Italian Alps on Monday amid record temperatures.
The avalanche took place on the Marmolada, which at more than 3,300 metres is the highest mountain in the Dolomites, a range in the eastern Italian Alps straddling the regions of Trento and Veneto.
The huge mass of ice collapsed close to Punta Rocca, on the route usually used by hikers and climbers to reach the summit, the Alpine rescue unit said.
One of the deceased was Italian Filippo Bari, 28, who snapped a selfie with the glacier not long before the avalanche, his brother Andrea told local media.
Bari sent the photo to his parents and brother with the caption "look where I am!", Il Gazzettino reported.
"Filippo slipped away, the big Marmolada wanted to keep him with him," Mayor Francesco Gonzo announced on Facebook.
"Vicentina Island is holding itself around mum Emanuela, dad Beppe, beloved brother Andrea, his partner, son and the whole family."
Andrea said his brother was an expert mountain hiker, but his family always told him to be careful.
The selfie was only 20-minutes before the avalanche.
"He passed away doing what he loved," he said.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said the disaster was linked to environmental factors.
"Today Italy weeps for these victims," Draghi said during a visit to meet rescue teams.
"But the government must think about what has happened and take steps to ensure that what happened is unlikely to do so again or can even be avoided," he added.
Two of the eight people injured were in a serious condition, said Maurizio Fugatti, president of the Trento region.
Three people from the Czech Republic were among those unaccounted for. An Austrian tourist who was earlier reported missing has now been traced, the local authorities said.
"This is the first such accident in the history of the mountain," said Gino Comelli, who was helping to coordinate rescue efforts.
The peak was too unstable for rescuers to try to approach on foot, Comelli said, adding that recent hot weather had been a factor in the collapse.
Pope Francis said he was praying for the victims and their families.
"The tragedies that we are experiencing with climate change should force us urgently to pursue new ways that respect people and nature," he said on Twitter.
Rising average temperatures have caused the Marmolada glacier, like many others around the world, to shrink steadily over recent decades.
"The Marmolada glacier collapse is a natural disaster linked directly to climate change," said Poul Christoffersen, a professor in Glaciology at the University of Cambridge.
"High elevation glaciers such as the Marmolada are often steep and relying on cold temperatures below zero degrees Celsius to keep them stable," he added
Reuters/Newshub
