Two hikers found dead in Turkey’s Hakkari

Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish rescue teams in Hakkari (Colemerg) province on Tuesday found the bodies of two hikers who fell into a crevasse on Mount Cilo two days earlier.

The two were part of a group of 18 hiking on Mount Cilo’s glaciers on Sunday, according to the Hakkari governor’s office. Four of the group fell into a crevasse. Two of them were rescued and sent to hospital on the same day.
 
The dead were identified by state media as Mehmet Aydin, a teacher from Sirnak province, and Hakime Koc, a civil servant at the justice ministry. The governor’s office said the search and rescue operation has ended. 

Mount Cilo was a prohibited area from the 1990s until 2018 due to armed clashes between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish army. The area has since reopened to the public and hosts an annual festival. This year’s edition was attended by thousands of people, including tourists from the Kurdistan Region.

In 2020, the area was designated Turkey’s 45th national park, following a decision by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Mount Cilo is the third highest mountain in the country at 3,400 meters above sea level.