- Santuario di Gallivaggio in Valle Spluga in Italy narrowly avoided destruction
- Landslide happened after town experienced 60mm of rain in just 24 hours
- Priest Don Andrea Caelli said ‘hand of God’ was involved after no one was hurt
A 420-year-old church had a miraculous escape when a landslide stopped just yards away.
In the clip, the landslide approaches the Santuario di Gallivaggio in Valle Spluga in Italy near the Swiss border before suddenly stopping.
The belltower was engulfed in dust after the rocks fell from the cliff face on May 29.
In the clip, the landslide can be seen and heard falling dramatically towards the church
The rocks tumble down the mountain towards the 420-year-old Santuario di Gallivaggio in Valle Spluga, Italy. Although it is engulfed in a cloud of dust, the church was not seriously damaged
Local news website Avvenire reported that the landslide happened after the town experienced 60millimeters of rain in just 24 hours.
Around 7,500 cubic meters of rock fell in the landslide, but remarkably nobody was hurt.
Parish priest Don Andrea Caelli told Avvenire: ‘As a believer I say that the provident hand of God accompanied this event which could have ended tragically.’
Roads to the town had been closed for more than a month after forecasters predicted the landslide.
The roads have now reopened and there was no significant damage to the church, which was built on the site where two young girls claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary in 1492.
Around 7,500 cubic meters of rock fell during the landslide in the region on May 29, but miraculously no one was hurt
In this aerial shot of the church, the rubble can be seen just yards away from the church which was built on the site where two young girls claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary in 1492
Advertisement