Dozens of people die in Turkey after two avalanches. More than 50 other people are injured. Rescuers are desperately looking for victims.
- Snow avalanches occurred in Eastern Turkey on Tuesday and Wednesday.
- So far, these have claimed at least 38 lives .
- How many people were buried by the snow is still unclear .
Istanbul - At least 38 people have died in two snow avalanches in the eastern Turkish province of Van . At least 33 people died on Wednesday, the Turkish civil protection agency Afad said.
Among them were civilians and rescuers who had already worked on site to find victims of another avalanche accident the previous evening . Provincial Governor Mehmet Emin Bilmez told the broadcaster that 53 people had been injured .
Avalanche accident in Turkey: Five people died on Tuesday
At least five people had been killed in the first avalanche accident the previous evening . Her minibus had been overrun by the avalanche. Eight people were saved after the accident, the state news agency Anadolu reported.
After the second accident, 63 people were recovered alive , Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said late afternoon, according to TRT. Soylu had traveled to Van. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his condolences during a speech.
How many people were buried in total and how many are still under the snow masses remained initially unclear.
Avalanche accident in Turkey: further avalanche threatens
The rescue work initially continued even in the dark, until it was later suspended, according to the state news agency Anadolu. They are expected to continue on Thursday morning. According to Afad, around 150 rescuers were on site. The Ministry of Defense had dispatched additional helpers and equipment on an airplane in the afternoon.
TV pictures showed excavators and people with shovels and long poles working in heavy snow in a white hilly landscape. The broadcaster TRT reported that a snowstorm had been announced in the area for the evening. Authorities had also warned that a third avalanche could start.
An avalanche accident also occurred in South Tyrol in January. A woman and two children died. In addition, four Germans have already died this year from an avalanche in the Swiss Alps.