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.<br />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.<br />"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.<br />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.<br />"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.<br />Authorities in the canton of Valais, where the towns and villages affected, have called on people to be prudent in view of the conditions.<br />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.<br />Other regions of Europe were also experiencing communication difficulties due to heavy snowfalls, with areas as far west as Spain affected.<br />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.<br />It was also obligatory for vehicles to use chains on 12 roads, Spain's traffic directorate general, DGT, said in a statement.<br />The circulation of trucks, articulated vehicles and buses was prohibited in these areas, the DGT said in a statement.<br /> <br />Keywords: efe,switzerland,snow,tourists
