Glacier ice preserves everything deposited at higher elevations years ago. (Representative Photo)
The thawing of glaciers in the Swiss Alps has exposed the wreckage of a plane as well as other human remains, a report in Newsweek said. Although the investigation and clean-up are still proceeding, the plane's components appear to be from a small aircraft that crashed in the highlands over 50 years ago, the outlet further said.
The debris of the small plane - a Piper Cherokee - was discovered on Aletsch Glacier. The police said in a release that it had crashed nearby on June 30, 1968.
Information about the aircraft and the finding of its components on the glacier was given by the Air Force to the Swiss Security Investigation Service (SESE) between the towns of Jungfraufirn and Konkordiaplatz, on the municipality of Fieschertal's territory.
The findings were also reported to the cantonal police.
"Glacier ice preserves virtually everything that has been deposited at higher elevations years and decades ago," Daniel Farinotti, a glaciologist at ETH Zurich, told Newsweek.
"This reaches from remnants of plants and animals, over equipment-debris and garbage left by mountaineers, to entire bodies," Mr Farinotti added.
In the previous century, some 300 individuals have gone missing in the Alps, the vast majority of them are presumably dead, reported Newsweek.
Since glaciers melt in the summer, it is likely that further parts or wreckage will be uncovered from the ice. The police want the debris to be immediately marked and information sent to them.