Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Avalanche in Turkey Wipes Out Rescue Team; 17 Dead Overall

Associated Press

   ANKARA, TURKEY - An avalanche slammed into a mountain road in eastern
   Turkey on Wednesday, wiping out a huge team of rescue workers sent to
   find two people missing in an earlier avalanche. Officials said 12
   rescue workers were killed and an estimated 15 others were buried under
   the snow.

   Wednesday's avalanche increased the overall death toll from the
   disaster to 17.

   Some 300 emergency service workers were called to a highway near the
   mountain-surrounded town of Bahcesaray in Van province, which borders
   Iran, after an avalanche struck late Tuesday, killing five people.
   Around noon Wednesday, the team was struck by the second avalanche.|
   Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters that 11 rescuers'
   bodies were recovered from the mass of snow on the steep slope. They
   included eight military police officers and three government-paid
   village guards. Gov. Mehmet Emin Bilmez later said a firefighter was
   also killed.

   Emergency teams were searching for up to 15 colleagues still buried
   under the snow, including members from the government's disaster
   response agency and its medical rescue team.

   Some 30 emergency workers were either rescued or escaped from under the
   snow and were hospitalized Wednesday, the Interior Ministry said. There
   was no further information on their conditions.

   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 out of 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.

   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 toward a village before
   being picked up by a vehicle and managed to seek help.

.