Bodies of Belgian climbers who vanished in 1992 found in Swiss Alps

The bodies of two Belgian climbers who disappeared in the Swiss Alps 34 years ago have been found, freed from the melting Trift Glacier, police said Wednesday.

On July 26, a hiker reported finding two bodies on the glacier in southern Switzerland, near the Italian border, the regional police in Wallis canton said in a statement.

The bodies had been taken to the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Wallis Hospital in Sion for identification.

"A direct comparison of DNA profiles has formally established that these are two mountaineers who went missing in the Weissmies region in 1992," the statement said.

The two Belgian men were aged 39 and 41 when they disappeared.

Wallis police maintain a list of missing persons dating back to 1925, primarily in high mountains and rivers.

Climate change has accelerated the melting of glaciers, with the retreating ice releasing bodies of climbers it has held for years, often decades.

Last year, the bones of a Swiss mountaineer who disappeared in 1994 were found on a glacier on the Ober Gabelhorn mountain, also in Wallis.