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Marcel Bastyns and Jos Van Deun's bodies were discovered after 34 years of being lost in the Swiss Alps.

Police in the Valais region of Switzerland confirmed that the bodies of Marcel Bastyns and Jos Van Deun, two Belgian mountaineers, were recovered from the Trift Glacier. The pair had been missing since 1992 after attempting to climb the Weissmies mountain. A hiker discovered the remains on July 26, a discovery made possible by the rapid retreat of glaciers caused by climate change. DNA analysis at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Sion formally established the identities of the two men, who were 39 and 41 years old at the time of their disappearance. While search efforts in 1992 only recovered a rucksack, the melting ice has now provided a definitive conclusion for their families. Regional officials noted that the melting of glaciers is increasingly revealing the remains of people who disappeared decades ago. This phenomenon is occurring globally, with similar discoveries of long-missing individuals being reported in Antarctica, Pakistan, and the United States.

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