1954 Blons avalanches

The Blons avalanches in Austria was one of the worst mass burials by avalanche in recorded history.

The small village of Blons near Bludenz, Vorarlberg in the Austrian Alps was hit by an avalanche at 9:36 a.m. on 12 January 1954. A second avalanche hit the village at 7 p.m. as rescue workers attempted to dig out the persons buried by the first avalanche. The village had a population of 365 people, of whom 57 were killed and 22 never found. Twenty-nine of the 90 buildings in the village were destroyed. Over 200 died on that day in the two avalanches.

A novel and film, Der Atem des Himmels, portray the avalanches and the build-up to them realistically.

References

• Swiss Avalanche Warning Center Site
• Book, written by one of the survivors