Slick roads set off 20-vehicle crash in Turkey: 30 injured

Snow paralyzed daily life in many cities of Turkey, causing many traffic accidents. In the northwestern province of Bilecik, a 20- vehicle chain reaction crash occurred on Thursday, Feb.19, injuring at least 30.

The accident involved three buses, four trucks, two lorries and 11 cars; the injured were rushed to the nearby hospitals.

Turkey has been battered over the past four days by a huge storm system, which brought a high accumulation of snow, which even coated Istanbul with an average of 60 centimeters or 11 inches. Much of the country was blanketed in snow.Hundreds of drivers and passengers became stranded on the roads, while hundreds of roads were also closed to traffic.

Schools in many cities were also closed due to freezing cold weather and heavy snowfall.

Meanwhile, in Istanbul, yesterday, Feb. 18, hundreds of  domestic and international flights, were cancelled due to the bad weather conditions. Heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures paralyzed life especially in Istanbul on Wednesday, February 18, the second day of the huge winter storm bearing down on the western, northern and central provinces of Turkey.

In addition, Ferry lines, such as IDO and BUDO, in Istanbul cancelled inner city services to Kadikoy, Karakoy, Kabatasa and Eminonu, as well as the Marmara Sea services to Bandırma, Bursa, Yalova and the Islands.