At least 100 visitors, including one infant, were trapped for several hours in the snow in Falakro ski resort by Drama, northern Greece, on Sunday, February 1, 2026.
Approximately 40 cars and one bus remained trapped due to a heavy snowfall and because the majority of them had no snow chains for their vehicles.
⚠️Εγκλωβισμένοι στο φαλακρό της Δράμας🚨
⚠️ Περίπου 100 επισκέπτες παραμένουν για ώρες εγκλωβισμένοι στο Χιονοδρομικό Κέντρο Φαλακρού,στη Δράμα ,καθώς η συνεχής χιονόπτωση δυσκολεύει τις μετακινήσεις. pic.twitter.com/uRSOpts8MM
— Forecast Weather Greece (@ForecastGreece) February 1, 2026
Most of the visitors were families with young children, including a family with a one-year-old infant. According to alpha-news.gr, they were trapped in the shelter while it snowed continuously.
“The visitors are safe in a warm environment and when the weather permits, the process of their evacuation will begin,” the responsible Regional Councilor told media late on Sunday.
In statements to media, the competent Regional Advisor for the Falakro Ski Center, Argyris Patakakis, stated that the problem of visitors being trapped is due to the fact that some cars that did not have the necessary equipment “obstructed” their descent to the city of Drama, resulting in a long delay of their evacuation from the area.
Αποκλεισμένοι λόγω κακοκαιρίας στο χιονοδρομικό κέντρο Φαλακρού δεκάδες επισκέπτες
Πάνω από 50 άνθρωποι έχουν εγκλωβιστεί εξαιτίας της ισχυρής χιονόπτωσης και της κάλυψης του δρόμου από πάγο
ΠΗΓΗ: MΕGA#ingr #news #κακοκαιρια pic.twitter.com/UVzweszdkE
— in.gr/news (@in_gr) February 1, 2026
Snowfall was strong, winds were reaching 30 kilometers per hour, temperatures were low and the road cleaned by authorities and traffic police was covered by frost.
PS I dare say that they ultimately managed to reach their homes in safety and banged their heads on the walls for going to a ski resort without the necessary equipment.
But most likely they kept thinking in the old Greek traditional way: “this doesn’t happen to me” or “it happened once, it won’t twice.”
How can this EU member country raise people unaware of risks??? Or they just believe that they are smarter than the guy next to them?
Note that according to the traffic code, drivers are obliged to carry anti-skid chains in their vehicles from November 1 until March 30 even if they live in Attica or on the island of Crete. This has been in effect since January 2024.
