Wooden barriers cause death of skier

ERZURUM - Hürriyet Daily News

The photo (bottom) shows the wooden barriers that Aslı Nemutlu hit. The media say the slopes should have been covered with nets (top) as in international skiing events. AP photo

Turkish news outlets have criticized wooden barriers for causing the death of national skier Aslı Nemutlu, who suffered a fatal accident in Erzurum on Jan. 12.

Nemutlu, 17, took a hard fall while training at the Konaklı Skiing Center where she was preparing for this weekend’s Alpine Skiing National Championships.

The sports daily Fanatik and online news outlet T24 were among those who blamed the slopes’ being fenced by wooden barriers instead of nets for causing Nemutlu to break her neck while training. Konaklı is one of the skiing venues in the eastern Turkish province of Erzurum that hosted the Winter Universiade, or the University Winter Games, last year.

Provincial Head of the Youth and Sports General Directorate Fatih Çintimar responded to the criticism by saying a probe was opened into the death of the athlete.

“In every skiing venue there are barriers, just like here,” Çintimar said to Anatolia news agency. “Those venues were built during the Universiade, abiding by international rules. A criminal investigation was started by the gendarmerie, and the Turkish Skiing Federation will also make a statement on the issue.”
Nemutlu had been a part of the national youth team since 2006, when she won regional championships and was runner-up in national events. Turkey’s sport’s governing body announced it had cancelled this weekend’s championships after the young athlete’s death.