Second avalanche in Turkey kills dozens of rescuers

ISTANBUL－Two avalanches in the eastern Turkish province of Van have killed at least 40 people, most of them buried by the second downslide on Wednesday while working to rescue victims of the first.

The search and rescue team encountered the second avalanche during its mission to find two people trapped in a previous avalanche that killed five on Tuesday, said Mehmet Emin Bilmez, governor of Van, warning of more avalanches.

Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, or AFAD, said 33 bodies were recovered from the mass of snow on the steep slope on Wednesday.

The DHA News Agency said two bodies were recovered on Thursday, bringing the death toll from the two avalanches to 40.

Emergency teams were still searching for other colleagues under the snow, Bilmez said. He did not provide a figure of how many more could be missing.

It is worth noting that the killed rescuers include military personnel, village guards and civilians.

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said early on Thursday that 47 people remained hospitalized with six in intensive care, but they weren't in critical condition.

He added that around 700 additional emergency rescue personnel were dispatched to the area.

TV footage from Bahcesaray district in Van Province showed dozens of people using shovels and sticks in snowfall and high winds to dig out vehicles that had been buried and toppled in the avalanche on Tuesday.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said conditions in the area made it difficult for rescue vehicles to operate, adding that a vehicle had been pulled out from under as much as 5 meters of snow.

He later said that rescue efforts had been put on hold as authorities feared a third avalanche in the area.

Osman Ucar, head of AFAD's Van office, was hospitalized after being caught in the avalanche. He told Ihlas News Agency from hospital that some 200 people were working in the rescue operation but many were out of the immediate area when the second avalanche hit.

"I was halfway buried in snow," he said. "I got out by my own means."

The state-run Anadolu Agency said the driver, Bahattin Karagulle, was trapped beneath the snow for 25 minutes before he managed to break a window and escape. He walked toward a village to get help before being picked up by a passing vehicle.

According to AFAD, a mobile base station has been set up in the affected area while three more would be established to aid communication.

REUTERS/XINHUA