Two successive avalanches in Turkey killed at least 38 people, most of them buried by the second downslide while working to rescue victims of the first, officials said.

Key points: An earlier avalanche that struck on Tuesday killed five people

An earlier avalanche that struck on Tuesday killed five people Driver was trapped beneath snow but broke window to escape

Driver was trapped beneath snow but broke window to escape Some 300 rescuers were digging for victims when the second avalanche hit

Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Authority (AFAD) said 33 people died on Wednesday when the second avalanche hit while they were searching for two more victims of the first snowslip, which killed five people, after rescuing eight others.

Mehmet Emin Bilmez, governor of the eastern province of Van, said the perished rescuers included military police officers, government-paid village guards, firefighters and volunteers. In addition, 53 people were injured.

More people are believed to be trapped, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said earlier, without giving a number.

Eight people were rescued from the first avalanche before the second hit. ( AP: Yilmaz Sonmez/IHA )

Rescue teams were working to rescue people trapped under an earlier avalanche that struck on Tuesday, killing five people.

Eight people were rescued from that avalanche and the second snowslide occurred as teams were searching for two others.

The first avalanche buried a snow-clearing vehicle and a minibus. The vehicle's operator and seven passengers escaped alive.

The state-run Anadolu Agency said the vehicle operator, Bahattin Karagulle, was trapped beneath the snow for 25 minutes before he managed to break a window and escape.

He told the agency he walked toward a village before he was picked up by a vehicle and managed to seek help.

Some rescue workers were killed by an avalanche after trying to save victims of a previous avalanche. ( AP: DHA )

Meki Arvas, mayor of a district in Van, was quoted by broadcaster NTV as saying a team of 300 people had been working to rescue people from the first avalanche.

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.

Fog, heavy snow and strong winds were hampering the rescue efforts.

Emergency service members work in the snow around overturned vehicles, near the town of Bahcesehir in eastern Turkey. ( AP: Yilmaz Sonmez/IHA )

TV footage from Van's Bahcesaray district showed dozens of people using shovels and sticks in snowfall and high winds to dig out buried vehicles.

Governor Soylu said the conditions in the area made it difficult for rescue vehicles to operate, adding a vehicle had been pulled out from under 4–5 metres of snow.



AP/Reuters