Zermatt (Switzerland), Jan 10 (EFE), (Camera: Maria Traspaderne).- Heavy snowfalls on the upscale Swiss ski resort of Zermatt have for a second day left some 13,000 tourists stranded as authorities kept road and rail links closed on Wednesday, allowing only helicopter flights into a valley near the alpine village, as reported by an EFE journalist on the ground.
Airlift evacuation flights into the relatively flat Rhone Valley floor at Raron, 33 kilometers (20 miles) north of Zermatt, provided some relief for those desperate to leave the snowed-in area, as revealed by the epa images.
"We decided to leave by helicopter," said EFE journalist Maria Traspaderne. "It is not a compulsory evacuation, we paid for the trip, but at a reduced price," she reported, adding that queues of people eager to leave the resort had formed at the heliport.
As road links were closed and local authorities were working to clear rail lines, the helicopter journey was from Zermatt to Tasch, where a free bus was made available by authorities to the town of Visp, to where rail links were still in action.
"The railway cannot operate as planned due to the difficult removal of snow between Täsch and Zermatt," the Zermatt-Matterhorn tourist authority said in a statement released midday Wednesday. "The persons in charge are working hard on the reopening and are confident to open the railway in the afternoon," it added.
Authorities in the canton of Valais, where the towns and villages affected, have called on people to be prudent in view of the conditions.
In some areas, up to two meters (6.5 feet) of snow fell in 24 hours, which has raised the risk of avalanches to a maximum, authorities said.
Other regions of Europe were also experiencing communication difficulties due to heavy snowfalls, with areas as far west as Spain affected.
Some 16 areas in Spain suffered road closures, including northern Navarra, Aragon and Cantabria, while central Castilla y León, as well as southern Extremadura and Andalusia, all had to close traffic links due to an accumulation of snow.
It was also obligatory for vehicles to use chains on 12 roads, Spain's traffic directorate general, DGT, said in a statement.
The circulation of trucks, articulated vehicles and buses was prohibited in these areas, the DGT said in a statement.
Keywords: efe,switzerland,snow,tourists
