<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Parts of a mountain glacier collapsed in the Italian Alps on Sunday amid record temperatures, local authorities said, killing at least six people and injuring eight.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The Trento provincial government said rescue operations were in progress after a large "ice avalanche" involving hikers, adding that there was likely to be a "heavy toll".</div><div><br></div><div>The avalanche took place on the Marmolada, which at more than 3,300 metres is the highest mountain in the Dolomites, a range in the eastern Italian Alps straddling the regions of Trento and Veneto.</div><div><br></div><div>Injured people were taken to hospitals in the nearby towns of Belluno, Treviso, Trento and Bolzano, said the president of Veneto, Luca Zaia.</div><div><br></div><div>The huge mass of ice collapsed close to Punta Rocca, on the route usually used by hikers and climbers to reach the summit, the Alpine rescue unit said.</div><div><br></div><div>"Fortunately the weather conditions are good but the danger is that there could be further collapses," a spokesperson said.</div><div><br></div><div>Helicopters and dogs were being used to try to find survivors.</div><div><br></div><div>An early summer heatwave in Italy saw temperatures on the Marmolada touch 10 degrees Celsius (50 Fahrenheit) on Saturday, Zaia said.</div><div><br></div><div>Rising average temperatures have caused the Marmolada glacier, like many others around the world, to shrink steadily over recent decades. -Reuters</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/TR</div>