In Switzerland the fate of people in its southeastern canton is unknown Ticino after a landslide caused by torrential rains, which have been affecting a large part of the country since yesterday, Saturday, the police announced today.

Heavy storms “caused a landslide in its vicinity Fountain (in the northwestern part of the canton) and the fate of people is unknown,” police in Italian-speaking Ticino said in a statement, without elaborating.

Rescue operations are particularly difficult due to bad weather conditions, the same source said.

An appeal for the evacuation of the houses, located near the river Maggia, was made early this morning to its residents Prato-Sorniko and the valley of Maggia, where the missing are being searched for.

Roads are blocked and campsites along the river have been evacuated, canton police said.

Besides, a bridge was swept away by the waters, as a result of which a street in the cantonment was blocked.

Valleys near the Maggia Valley are no longer accessible and power has been cut. A portion of the canton also has no drinking water, according to the federal alert system Swissalert.

Much of Switzerland has been hit by severe thunderstorms since yesterday, Saturday afternoon, and the rainfall is very heavy.

Overflows of Rhône and its tributaries, swollen by rainwater and melting ice, have forced hundreds of people to evacuate while also closing many roads, according to local authorities Come on (southwest Switzerland).

The country was already hit by severe storms with unusually heavy rainfall over the past weekend, which left at least one person dead and caused significant damage in its southeastern regions.