Authorities say a small Alpine river dammed by a landslide that largely buried the Swiss village of Blatten is now flowing through the debris, and the level of a newly created lake that raised worries about potential new destruction has fallen.

A massive landslide thundered down a mountainside in Switzerland on Wednesday, destroying a village and burying homes under rocks, mud and water. At least one person is missing.

On Wednesday, a landslide from the mountain side of Birch Glacier -- located in the Lötschental valley in northern Switzerland -- flattened homes in the Alpine town of Blatten after a large chunk of the glacier broke off, Bethan Davies, a professor of glaciology at Newcastle University in the U.K., told ABC News.

A village in Switzerland that was home to 300 people has almost been completely destroyed after a glacier collapsed onto it.

Officials halted rescue operations on Friday evening after poor lighting and the possibility of more landslides put rescue workers at risk.