UPDATE - Turkey: Rescue teams find bodies of 2 missing hikers

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Ugur Ulu

BURSA, Turkey (AA) - Rescue teams on Wednesday found the bodies of two hikers who went missing in Bursa province of western Turkey.

The hikers went missing on Dec. 1 due to heavy fog near Mt. Uludag peak.

"A male body was found one kilometer [0.6 miles] from a jacket found during search operations in the Kureklidere region. Also, another male body was found about one kilometer below the first body in the same area," the local governor's office said.

"Furthermore, the identity of the first body was found to be Efe Sarp," it added in a statement.

The statement said rescue teams were facing great difficulty to reach the area where the second body was found, due to the steep and rocky terrain.

Search efforts were initiated for Sarp and Mert Alpaslan after their families contacted the gendarmerie upon losing contact with them.

The jacket and some other belongings of the hikers were found 10 days ago, bringing hopes of rescuing the hikers alive.

*Writing by Havva Kara Aydin