GENEVA: Several people are missing after a landslide in the southern Swiss region of Ticino, German News Agency (DPA) reported.

A violent thunderstorm hit the Maggia valley during the night, the police said on Sunday morning. The landslide occurred in Fontana, they said.

The search for the missing people in Fontana was hampered by the bad weather conditions. Several side valleys could not be reached by land. Campsites along the Maggia river were evacuated.

Communication networks and the power supply were interrupted in the worst affected area.

Some 200 millilitres of rain fell in the upper Maggia valley over the weekend, the weather service Meteonews said. Drinking water in the area was contaminated as a result of the storm, it said.

In the region of Valais neighbouring Ticino, the river Rhône overflowed its banks in several places after heavy thunderstorms since Saturday afternoon. Flooding also occurred on the Rhône’s tributaries.

Source: Emirates News Agency