Ten climbers killed in Turkey avalanche

An avalanche that swept down a mountain near a small winter resort killed 10 climbers in northeast Turkey today.

An avalanche that swept down a mountain near a small winter resort killed 10 climbers in northeast Turkey today.

Seven other people caught up in the avalanche survived.

Rescue teams worked for hours to retrieve survivors and bodies from the 17-person group which had set out on a hike from the village of Zigana in mountainous Gumushane province, near Turkey's Black Sea coast.

Search teams and locals equipped with shovels and accompanied by dogs continued to scour the snowy slopes as the light faded.

"Unfortunately we lost 10 of our friends. Two of our friends are in hospital and five escaped without being caught by the avalanche," housing minister Faruk Nafiz Ozak said after arriving at the scene.

The group belonged to a climbing club based in the neighbouring Black Sea province of Trabzon.

Speculating about the cause of the avalanche, witnesses told Turkish television they heard a couple of gunshots before it happened. However, a local governor said they could have mistaken the sound of the avalanche beginning for gunfire.

Television footage from the region showed military personnel and locals struggling to carry one climber lying on a sheet through deep snow. Broadcasters showed medics placing a climber with a neck brace into an ambulance which raced off to hospital.

One local official told CNN Turk television that the temperature in the region had been higher than the seasonal average in recent days.

Many parts of Turkey are mountainous and although still a minority interest, winter sports are becoming increasingly popular in mountain ranges across the country.