ANKARA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in two avalanches in eastern Turkey reached 41 on Thursday, semi-official Anadolu Agency reported.
The high number of causalities came on Wednesday after a second avalanche struck rescue teams searching for trapped people in mountainous Bahcesaray area in the eastern Turkish province of Van.
A total of 53 others were injured in the second avalanche where snowfall and blizzards have hampered the rescue efforts. Governor Bilmez warned that more avalanches could occur in the area.
The search and rescue team encountered the second avalanche during its mission to find two people trapped in a previous avalanche that took place late on Tuesday, said Mehmet Emin Bilmez, governor of Van.
Five people were killed in the Tuesday's avalanche that struck a minibus and a snow-clearing vehicle.
The first avalanche struck the vehicles in Bahcesaray district along the Van-Bahcesaray highway while the construction vehicle was ploughing snow near Karabet Mountain Pass at an altitude of 3,000 m.
