Avalanche Kills 10 On Turkey’s Mt. Zigana

January 25, 2009

A Turkish mountaineering club has been devastated by the deaths of 10 members following an avalanche on Turkey’s Mt. Zigana. Seventeen members of the hiking and mountaineering club were swept more than 1,600 feet down the 7,200 foot Mt. Zigana. Seven members were successfully rescued by authorities and villagers, with ten perishing during the avalanche.

The mountaineering club was in the midst of their annual winter sports celebration at a local Mt. Zigana resort. The celebration is used to draw in skiers to a small resort near the Black Sea

We were walking and before we realized what was going on, the avalanche came on us,” Ural Ayar, one of the survivors, told NTV television by telephone. “The snow dragged our friends along and unfortunately they were buried.”

Mountain rescue teams used dogs in trying to find the trapped members, but called off the search once the sun went down. You can find the full report here.

The names of those involved in this incident have not been released. With that being said, I need to make a personal complaint to the Associated Press for publishing photographs of the dead victims lying in the snow. The families of those involved should not be subjected to the photographs before they are notified of their loved one’s situation. Come on. Have some humility guys!

Let’s keep all of them in our thoughts and prayers today.

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