As rescuers searched for survivors of a deadly avalanche in eastern Turkey, a second avalanche swept down the same slope on Wednesday, killing more than 30 people and injuring many more.

The confirmed toll from the two slides in a mountainous area of Van Province climbed sharply through the day, reaching 38 dead, including 33 rescuers, and 53 injured, according to the national disaster management agency. Officials estimated that two people were still trapped under an earth digger.

The Turkish interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, said officials had called off the rescue work because of intense snowfall and the risk of another avalanche.

The first avalanche, on Tuesday, barreled into a passenger van, knocking it off a road and down a steep slope, killing at least five of the 14 people inside, local news reports said.