ERZURUM – A landslide in Turkey’s Erzurum, host city of the 2011 Winter Universiade, has severely damaged the Türk Telekom Ski Jumping Towers, one of the most modern ski jumping venues in the world. The ski jumping venue is located on the Kiremitlik Hill at the base of Palandöken Mountain just southwest of Erzurum. The images of the disaster are impressive. The landing areas of the five jumps were almost completely destroyed. Fortunately there were no casualties, nor wounded.
The landslide happened yesterday Tuesday 15 July in the afternoon around 14h00 local time. The landslide apparently resulted from the heavy rains that hit the region in the spring. Although the landing area of the five hills and bleachers are almost completely destroyed, the extent to which the two jumping towers and the adjacent building with dormitories and meeting rooms were affected, is not yet known. A hotel that is located right next to the ski jumping facility had to be evacuated after but no one got injured.
The Ski Jumping Hill in Erzurum was built for the 2011 Winter Universiade and was one of the new and modern landmarks of the city. Indeed, the first building one notices when arriving in a plane at the Erzurum airport are the impressive towers. It is also the first and only Ski Jumping Hill in Turkey and featured in a long term plan to prepare more Turkish athletes to become prominent players on the international winter sport scene. The investment of the hills was approximately EUR 20 million and the ski jumping hill opened in September 2010. The venue comprises a K-125 large hill, a K-95 normal hill and three small training hills. Besides the 2011 Winter Universiade, the hill also hosted the FIS Junior World Championships in 2012 as well as several Continental Cup competitions and Nordic Combined events. Turkey has invested heavily in ski jumping with the aim to qualify more athletes for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Korea and the ski jumping venue was a true legacy of the Winter Universiade to that purpose.
It is not yet clear what the amount of damage is, but most likely it will run in the millions of Euros. Moreover, it is not yet possible to estimate the real costs of the repairs, as the area is still off-limits because the authorities fear the risk of more landslides.
C. Pierre, Press Officer
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