Snowstorm paralyzes life in Turkey

ISTANBUL (AA) – A strong snowstorm forced authorities to close Istanbul Strait to shipping traffic on Thursday.

Authorities closed the Bosporus to traffic at noon Thursday along with Canakkale strait.

Snowstorm paralyzed daily life in Istanbul and in many parts of the country.

Power cuts were seen in Istanbul and water could not be given to many districts in the city. Snow blanketed the roads of Istanbul, slowing traffic to a crawl. Totally 350 traffic accidents took place in the city. International and domestic flights were delayed by at least one or two hours, and domestic flights to some airports were also cancelled during the day.

Schools and even some universities were also closed.

Gales battered other parts Turkey, knocking minarets off mosques in the southern city of Antalya, while rescue teams tried to reach the crew of a small cargo ship that ran aground near the Mediterranean resort of Kemer.

The heavy snowfall also paralyzed daily life in western Turkey.

A STUDENT FREEZES TO DEATH EN ROUTE FROM SCHOOL TO HIS VILLAGE IN ERZURUM

A student froze on Friday to death en route from school to his village in Cat town of eastern Erzurum province.

Sources told A.A correspondent that a student of Cat Elementary School named Huseyin Sahan got on a minibus to go from school to his village after getting his report.

Sahan, Veysel Aktekin and Bayram Aktekin, who were living in the same village, wanted to walk from Tuysuz to Cukurcayir village as the village road was closed to traffic due to snowfall.

Huseyin Sahan, 16, froze to death due to snowstorm when walking four-kilometer road.

Officials said that efforts were under way to find Veysel and Bayram Aktekin who were missing.