Double avalanche in Turkey kills 28

Dozens of people are still missing after two avalanches struck eastern Turkey’s Van province

Turkish soldiers and rescue workers try to rescue people after a double avalanche. EPA

Two avalanches killed 28 people in Turkey's Van province, including 23 rescue workers.

Hundreds of rescue workers were dispatched on Tuesday evening to a highway near the mountain-surrounded town of Bahcesaray in Van province after an avalanche struck, leaving two people missing.

On Wednesday at noon, the rescuers were stuck by a further snowslide.

Governor Mehmet Emin Bilmez said 23 rescuers’ bodies were recovered from the mass of snow on the steep slope. They included eight military police officers, three government-paid village guards, three firefighters and nine volunteers.

Emergency teams were searching for other colleagues who may still be buried under the snow, Mr Bilmez said, but did not specify a number.

Video from the scene showed at least three overturned vehicles at the bottom of a hill during a snowstorm. Some rescuers were climbing a steep incline to get out of the mass of snow while others dug frantically into the snow with shovels and pickaxes.

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

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 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 towards a village to get help before being picked up by a vehicle.