‘There is a Chain of Mistakes in Van’

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

Click to read the article in Turkish

Search and Rescue Association (AKUT) Honorary Chair Nasuh Mahruki has spoken to bianet about the two successive avalanches that struck the district of Bahçesaray in Turkey's eastern province of Van.

Mahruki has underlined that if an avalanche strikes a place, the possibility of another avalanche is always high. The crowd increases the risk of an avalanche as well, Mahruki has stressed further.

On February 4, an avalanche struck a minibus with passengers on board and an earth mover ploughing snow in Bahçesaray district, which has a high risk of avalanche. One day later, the search and rescue teams were engulfed by a second avalanche while looking for two missing persons.

41 people in total have lost their lives as a result of these two successive avalanches as of 5.17 p.m. today (February 6).

But, how should search and rescue operations be carried out in avalanche zones? Should earth movers be allowed to enter these sites? Mahruki has answered these questions for bianet:

'The primary precaution is not to be that crowded'

"If search and rescue teams are to be sent to an avalanche zone, the first thing to expect is whether another avalanche will strike or not.

"The search teams arriving in an avalanche zone should know whether they are themselves faced with the risk of another avalanche and should take precautions accordingly. One of the primary precautions to be taken is not to go there that crowded, as it was the case in Van.

"Sometimes, such unavoidable rescue situations can arise. For instance, you might have to pass an avalanche track. In such cases, teams pass it one by one so that the risk can be minimized. It is a precaution to prevent further losses of life if another avalanche strikes.

"Moreover, when the team passes the track one by one, the ones left behind watch them while passing the track so that the points where they were seen for the last time can be known if an avalanche engulfs them. The point where a person was seen for the last time is important because the search operations will start from that exact point.

'Earth movers shouldn't have entered the zone'

"When you put so many people in an avalanche zone, the vibrations caused by these people on snow can trigger an avalanche.

"Earth movers can be used, but the question on whether it should have been used in Van or not, the situation itself has given the answer: Of course, they should not have been used there.

"But, the most important of all is to calculate whether a new avalanche will strike or not. If there is such a risk, it needs to be planned where and how the avalanche might strike and how it will be possible to communicate with the ones who have to work in danger of an avalanche.

"Observers should be placed to follow the people who will work under the risk of an avalanche. If observers see that an avalanche will strike, they inform the team in the field by blowing a whistle or on the radio.

'Risk of second avalanche not considered'

"The avalanche zone in Van was very crowded, there is no need to be that crowded. 80 people stomped around in the avalanche zone to find the deceased bodies of two people after the first avalanche.

"They went there to take two dead bodies, 41 people lost their lives. It is horrible, there is a chain of mistakes. The risk of a second avalanche was not considered, an avalanche test was not considered.

'Few and professional people should go'

'In opening a track in deep snow at mountain, you walk step by step and you leave behind an uninterrupted mass of snow. This snow mass is what will prevent another avalanche. When mountaineers walk in the mountains, they walk without in each other's steps and without interrupting these steps because it prevents an avalanche and is very important.

"Neither the risk of a second avalanche, nor an avalanche test is considered. Fewer and professional people work and the ones working there have transmitters on them. These devices send a signal if something happens."

(RT/SD)