Seventeen Syrians trying to enter Turkey through the Iraqi border were rescued by Turkish border troops after they risked freezing to death. The refugees, 10 of whom were children, contacted the Gendarmerie Hotline 156 after they got stuck in the snow near the mountain village of Yekmal in Turkey. The Şırnak Gendarmerie Command sent two rescue helicopters to the region and brought them back to the base. Some of the refugees did not have shoes and were close to freezing when they were rescued, officials said. Officials were told the refugees had got lost and had eaten nothing for the past three days. After their rescue, the refugees were sent to Şırnak State Hospital.

The refugees, who were placed temporarily at a camp currently occupied by Iraqi Yazidis after being released from the hospital, said they were grateful to Turkish soldiers for their rescue. 55-year-old Ali Nazmi Şhek said they had reached Turkey after a three-day trek through the mountains, where they were stranded without food or water. Helicopters came in the nick of time, he said, adding that they had thanked the soldiers who rescued them.