Two bodies recovered from a melting glacier in Switzerland could be those of a couple who went missing in the 1940s.

Marceline Udry-Dumoulin, 79, the daughter of a couple who disappeared in 1942, told Swiss daily Le Matin that her parents set off on foot on August 15 1942 to feed the animals but never returned.

Valais canton police say the bodies, found on the Tsanfleuron glacier, appear to be two people killed in an accident decades ago. They were found at an altitude of 2,615 metres.

Items found with the bodies include a backpack, watch and book which have been passed to forensic teams.

At the time the couple went missing, rescue teams spent two months searching before calling off the search.

Formal identification, with the help of DNA, will take several days.