Rockfalls affect tourism at tallest dam in Europe

The Grande Dixence dam in southwestern Switzerland is closed to visitors owing to a rockfall at the weekend. The nearby hotel also had to temporarily suspend operations for safety reasons. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox It was evacuated on Wednesday. "At first, it was difficult to digest the news," director Pauline Moix told the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA. Fifteen tourists who were hiking the Haute Route between Chamonix in France and Zermatt were accommodated in other hotels in the region. The hotel staff, consisting of 12 seasonal workers, found accommodation in Evolène. "I was bombarded with calls from people in the region offering their help," Moix said. + Famous Swiss railway line re-opens after rockfall According to the municipality of Hérémence, around 5,000 cubic metres of rock have broken off since Saturday. As a result, the cable car has been closed and the cantonal road to the dam has been closed to cyclists and pedestrians. Dam out of ...