Six trapped under snow rescued in Uludağ

BURSA

All of the six people trapped on Feb. 4 under a heap of snow falling from a building at the prominent ski resort of Uludağ in northwestern Turkey have been rescued.

The provincial health authorities have said that the six people were being treated at various hospitals.

Bursa Mayor Yakup Canbolat said that the snow had fallen on the citizens from the roof of a used building formerly utilized by the national post PTT.

“The six citizens have been pulled out [from the snow] by the AFAD [Disaster and Management Presidency of Turkey] and gendarmerie rescue teams in an injured way. Their overall health conditions are good. The [rescue] works [by the teams] are continuing in case someone else is under the snow,” Canbolat was quoted as saying by state-run Anadolu Agency on Feb. 4.

Today, renowned as the “Snow Paradise,” Uludağ is the most popular winter sports center in Turkey. The mountain is 2,543 meters high and its high slopes are covered with a good quality snow between December and April.

Catering to all demands and providing hire facilities, guides and trainers, the ski resort is overrun with tourists from all over the world. Tourists enjoy all the fun without having to carry around clothes and equipment.

Uludağ has 13 different tracks suitable for alpine and cross-country skiing, snowboarding and heli-skiing. These tracks are graded according to ability and expertise and all equipped with aerial and surface lifts. There are also snowmobiles and ATV trips through the snow-covered pine forests.