Belgian climbers' bodies found in Swiss Alps after 34 years

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

A hiker reported finding two bodies on July 26 on the glacier in southern Switzerland, near the Italian border. The bodies were taken to the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Wallis Hospital in Sion for identification.

Wallis police said a DNA comparison formally established that the bodies were those of two mountaineers who went missing in the Weissmies region in 1992. The two Belgian men were 39 and 41 when they disappeared.

Police said Wallis keeps a missing persons list dating back to 1925, mainly covering high mountains and rivers. The retreat of glaciers has released bodies of climbers held in ice for years or decades.