ITALY - MAY 05: Marmolada (3342 metres), Dolomites (UNESCO World Heritage List, 2009), Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, Italy. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images) ITALY - A large chunk of Alpine glacier broke loose Sunday afternoon and slid down a mountainside, slamming into more than a dozen hikers on a popular trail on the peak.
At least four people were killed, Italy's state television said, and seven others were injured.RAI state television didn't cite a source for its report of fatalities.
But earlier the National Alpine and Cave Rescue Corps tweeted that the search of the involved area of Marmolada peak involved at least five helicopters and rescue dogs.
Separately, emergency dispatchers in northeast Italy tweeted that about 15 hikers were believed to have been in the stricken area.The segment that broke away is known as a serac, or pinnacle of a glacier.Marmolada, towering about 3,300 meters (about 11,000 feet), is the highest peak in the eastern Dolomites.ITALY - MAY 05: Marmolada (3342 metres) and Lake Fedaia, Mount Civetta in the background, Dolomites (UNESCO World Heritage List, 2009), Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, Italy. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images) "A breaking away of rock provoked the opening of a crevasse on the glacier, leaving about 15 people involved,'' the emergency dispatchers tweeted.The Alpine rescue service said in a tweet that the segment broke off near Punta Rocca (Rock Point), "along the itinerary normally used to reach the peak."RELATED: 'Oh my God, Titanic 2.0!' Video shows cruise ship hit iceberg near Alaskan glacierIt wasn't immediately clear what caused the section of ice to break away and rush down the peak's slope, but the intense heat wave gripping Italy since late June could be a.