Dozens are dead and more than twice as many others injured after two avalanches struck a mountainous region of Turkey.
The disaster began on Tuesday when the first avalanche killed five people in the country’s eastern Van province, which borders Iran. About 300 emergency workers were called to the area to assist when the crew was hit by a second avalanche, bringing the death toll to 41 and leaving 84 injured.
Sniffer dogs have been used to scan the avalanche field and help recover the bodies of those buried under the heavy snow and ice. Of the 84 who were injured, 47 remain hospitalized as of Thursday.
Osman Ucar, the head of Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Authority office, was one of those hospitalized as a result of the avalanche.
“I was halfway buried in snow,” he said. “I got out by my own means.”
A ceremony was held for some of those killed, including 11 military police officers, nine village guards, and two firefighters.
