GENEVA

Authorities in Switzerland are working to identify human remains found during a targeted search around Blatten, where a glacier collapse occurred in late May, Valais police told Anadolu on Thursday.

Police said that they had discovered the remains on Tuesday during coordinated search operations in the Tennmatten area following the disappearance of a 64-year-old sheep farmer.

The man had been missing since May 28, when the collapse of the Birch Glacier buried the village of Blatten, which was recently home to some 300 people.

Authorities ordered residents to evacuate on May 19 after geologists warned that the glacier was unstable.

The search has been conducted in stages. Tuesday’s operation focused on a specific area on the alluvial cone below the glacier runoff, where the remains were recovered, police said.

Police confirmed that further information will be issued once the identification results are available, likely in the coming days.