Images shared on social media show the moment the ice wave cascaded down, barely missing a couple of hikers.
Maurizio Fugatti, the president of the autonomous region of Trento, visited the alpine station of Canazei, where rescue teams have installed a headquarters of operations.
At 3,343 meters, the Marmolada is the highest part of the Dolomites. The glacier feeds the Avisio River and overlooks Lake Fedaia.
Maximum temperatures were recorded on Saturday when the top of the mountain reached 10 degrees Celsius. “This is extreme heat” for the summit, Walter Milan, a spokesman for the alpine rescue service, told state television RAI. “It’s clearly an abnormal thing.”
The incident occurs after a couple of months of unusual heat, with record temperatures for the month of June. Some parts of Italy topped 40 degrees, while 12 major cities were put on red alert last week due to the heat wave.
Italy has also suffered the worst drought in seven decades, causing immense damage to farmers and forcing local authorities to ration water supply to the villages and towns north of the Po Valley.