Bodies of Belgian hikers missing in Alps since 1992 found after Swiss glacier melts

The bodies of two Belgian mountaineers who went missing in the Swiss Alps more than three decades ago have been found in a melting glacier.

Police in the Valais region of Switzerland said a hiker discovered the remains on 26 July and added that they were exposed by the melting Trift Glacier.

Officers said the remains were then taken to a hospital, where a DNA comparison established they were two mountaineers who had gone missing in the Weissmies mountain area in 1992.

The men, both Belgian, were 39 and 41 years old at the time of their disappearance. Neither has been publicly identified by authorities.

According to Belgian news outlet VRT, the head of Brussels' missing persons unit, Gerry Van Loock, said: "The bodies were found because the glacier's ice has retreated, exposing part of the area.

"This made the area more accessible, and the remains were uncovered."

He added that he hopes the families of those missing can get confirmation so "the grieving process can begin and they can move on with their lives, however difficult that loss may be, of course".

"A bad answer is still better than no answer at all," Mr Van Loock said.

As glaciers continue to melt due to rising temperatures - primarily driven by manmade climate change - more missing bodies are emerging in mountainous or remote areas, experts say.

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Three years ago, DNA tests confirmed a body found on a Swiss glacier near the Matterhorn was that of a German mountaineer who disappeared in 1986.

Elsewhere, human remains were recovered in Tyrol and Pakistan last year after several decades, as glaciers shrank.

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