Heavy snowfall causes chaos

There is a state of emergency in Greece and Turkey: the onset of winter paralyzed traffic in major cities and several people were injured. Istanbul Airport ceased operations.

Heavy snow has in Greece and the Turkey led to traffic chaos. The airport Istanbul temporarily stopped flights completely on Monday, as the operating company announced. Work is underway to clear the runways and access roads of snow.

In neighboring Greece, the military was deployed on Monday evening to free people from their cars that had been stuck in the snow for several hours. “We use soldiers and special vehicles to free these people,” said Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos on state television (ERT).

A spokesman for the semi-state airline Turkish Airlines told the German Press Agency that flights from Istanbul Airport were suspended until 4 a.m. local time. Operations from the smaller Sabiha Gökcen Airport on the Asian side of the metropolis continue. In the cargo area of ​​Istanbul Airport, part of the roof collapsed due to the snow load, the spokesman said. The part of the building is currently unused, no one was injured.

Chaos on the streets of Athens

In Greece, most flights fell between the island airports and Athens out, and international flights were also canceled. In addition, chaos reigned on the streets of the capital Athens. Trucks lay across so that clearing equipment could not work. Many people had to stay in their cars for hours. Because of poor visibility, a locomotive collided with a passenger train about 90 kilometers north of Athens. Three people were slightly injured, state radio reported on Monday evening.

At least 22 people were injured in an accident on a highway east of Istanbul, according to the state news agency Anadolu. More than 30 vehicles drove into each other due to the snowfall and poor visibility.

Numerous roads around Istanbul closed

The governor of Istanbul, Ali Yerlikaya, has banned vehicles from leaving Istanbul province until further notice for security reasons. The access roads from Thrace to Istanbul are also blocked, he wrote on Twitter. According to the authorities, numerous other roads around Istanbul were closed. Operations at the bus stations in the metropolis had been stopped by Tuesday morning. The governor asked the population to leave their cars behind. He also shared videos of snow-covered streets.

People in Greece were asked nationwide by warning SMS to stay indoors if possible. Vaccination centers were closed, and schools were also tight.

Public servants in Greece and Turkey were given permission to go home earlier. The weather services of both countries have not yet given the all-clear – further snowfall and strong winds were expected.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.