Canadian diplomat killed by avalanche in Mt Erciyes

KAYSERİ

Micheal Kreeft, a Canadian United Nations Coordination member, has lost his life after being caught in an avalanche in Mount Erciyes, located in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri, while he was skiing.

The body of the 45-year-old diplomat was found during the search operations conducted by rescue teams at a temperature of minus 25 degrees Celsius.

According to Demirören News Agency, Kreeft, who is working at a U.N. facility in the southeastern province of Gaziantep, came to Erciyes Ski Resort to ski last weekend with two of his friends, Harres Yakoobi and Lukas Biedermann.

On Jan. 25, the three friends moved from the official ski tracks and were caught by an avalanche in the valley of Hisarcık Kapı.

Upon the notifications by people around, gendarmerie units and a team from the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) were sent to the scene.

The two friends were found alive immediately, but the search for the Canadian diplomat continued for hours.

Late on Jan. 16, Kreeft’s body was recovered and was brought down with a snowmobile and delivered to an ambulance.

Following the news of their friend’s death, Yakoobi and Biedermann burst into tears and hugged each other for minutes.

The U.N. Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Gaziantep coordinates cross-border humanitarian assistance delivered from Turkey to Syria as mandated by the U.N. Security Council resolutions 2449.