Vladikavkaz, Russia
A giant chunk of glacier broke off a mountain peak 495 feet high this week and hurtled down a scenic gorge teeming with hikers and tourists. As many as 150 people may have been killed in the avalanche, say emergency workers. At least eight bodies have been found. The sliding glacier reached 62 mph, accumulating rocks, mud, and uprooted trees as it went. “It sounded like a train was coming, but there are no trains here,” said Dmitry Podalyakin, 18, who fled a cafe in the avalanche’s path. Among the missing are Russian movie star Serge Bodrov and 49 people from a film crew who were working at the base of the glacier.
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