Death toll rises to 38 after two avalanches hit eastern Turkey

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Death toll rises to 38 after two avalanches hit eastern Turkey

More than 30 persons were saved from under the snow and sent to hospital

Wednesday February 5, 2020 9:43 PM, Agencies

[Most of the victims who died buried by the second downslide while working to rescue victims of the first, official said. (Photo: Anadolu Agency)]

Ankara: At least 38 people were killed and more than 50 injured on Wednesday after two avalanches struck rescue teams in Turkey's eastern province of Van, Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said in a written statement.

The teams were on a search-and-rescue mission to find two people trapped in a previous avalanche that occurred late on Tuesday, when the second avalanche happened, Xinhua quoted Van Governor Mehmet Emin Bilmez, who warned of the danger of further avalanches.

More than 30 persons were saved from under the snow and sent to hospital, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters, noting that there were still people buried under the snow.

At least five people were killed in the Tuesday avalanche that struck a minibus and a snow-clearing vehicle and seven others were rescued.

The avalanche struck the vehicles in Bahcesaray district along the Van-Bahcesaray highway while the vehicle was clearing snow near Karabet Mountain Pass at an altitude of 3,000 metres.

Most of the victims who died buried by the second downslide while working to rescue victims of the first, official said.

Video from the scene showed at least three overturned vehicles at the bottom of a hill during a snow storm. Some rescuers were climbing a steep incline to get away from the mass of snow while others dug frantically into the snow with shovels and pick-axes, according to Al Jazeera.

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