[CLSTR]
< Back to situation

[REVISION HISTORY]

Andes snowstorm traps trucks, forces evacuations

Updated 2 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-07-26 16:33 UTC → 2026-07-26 16:39 UTC · added removed

Andes snowstorm rescues in Argentina and Chile traps trucks, forces evacuations

The mid‑July 2026 Andes snowstorm, which left more than three metres of snow on high passes, snowstorm remains a major emergency across Argentina and Chile. Continued heavy snowfall has continued to drive large‑scale rescue isolated mountain communities, closed high‑altitude passes and relief operations. triggered avalanches. In Argentina, the National Gendarmería’s mountain Gendarmería Nacional’s high‑mountain units have rescued six people after avalanche‑blocked sections of the San Juan cordillera, people, including the a family of five in Calingasta and a puestero in Jáchal. A Jáchal, and evacuated a family with a four‑month‑old infant was also evacuated in Mendoza, while wildlife disruptions saw guanacos wandering Mendoza. Guanacos have descended onto San Juan roads. roads, prompting traffic alerts. In the Patagonian south, record cold reached El Calafate recorded a historic –17.6 °C in El Calafate, prompting low, reinforcing avalanche warnings across warnings. The storm has also immobilised roughly 1,500 truck convoys at the region. Cristo Redentor border crossing, creating a logistical bottleneck between the two countries. In Chile’s Coquimbo region, Chile, the army’s aviation unit air‑lifted Army Aviation evacuated a newborn and its her parents from the isolated Talhuén settlement. The international Cristo Redentor mountain pass remains closed, stranding roughly 1,500 trucks and obliging a multi‑agency assistance plan. The Rio Tinto mining crew A separate incident in Catamarca’s Puna continues to be the focus of a governmental investigation after 14 left fourteen Rio Tinto workers were and contractors trapped for more than 100 hours in –15 °C conditions. Coordination among the army, Gendarmería, civil protection conditions, prompting a government investigation that continues alongside coordinated rescue and local authorities persists as winter emergency plans stay in force. civil‑protection efforts.

Versions

  1. 2026-07-26 16:39 UTC Andes snowstorm traps trucks, forces evacuations
  2. 2026-07-26 16:33 UTC Andes snowstorm rescues in Argentina and Chile
  3. 2026-07-26 08:46 UTC Andes snowstorm rescues in Argentina and Chile

Only revisions since CLSTR began indexing content versions appear here. Select a version to see what changed compared to the one before it.