Extreme weather causes deaths, traffic chaos in Europe

BERLIN/MOSCOW - Across Europe heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures led to deaths and travel chaos Saturday, as people braced themselves for a sudden worsening of already extreme winter weather.

In Russia, five mountaineers died in an avalanche as they were attempting to climb a mountain in the North Caucasus region. Four people in the group were able to dig themselves free. Rescuers later found the corpses of the remaining five, including the expedition leader.

In Britain, two men died after falling into a frozen-over lake, and a 90-year-old woman was found dead in her garden, where she had presumably slipped and fallen. In Britain, 25 people have died as a result of the cold spell that started before Christmas.

In Spain, a man slipped and died from a head injury clearing snow, while a man in the Czech Republic had a heart attack performing the same activity.

Across Europe, snowstorms and icy roads caused chaos on the roads including hundreds of accidents, some of which were fatal.

In Germany, a 38-year-old died when the car he was in swerved into oncoming traffic. The vehicle was equipped with summer tyres and it appeared that the man had not been wearing a seatbelt.

In Trier, a tractor driver died when he slid on a downhill slope, and was dragged under the vehicle.

Across the border in Belgium, a man died when he lost control of his car on an icy road. In a separate incident, a lorry skidded and lost up to 700 litres of heating oil.

In eastern Czech Republic 30 cm of overnight snow led to road chaos. Only the main throughways were cleared and people were urged to keep travel to an absolute minimum, according to Czech news agency CTK.

Frankfurt airport cancelled 220 flights due to heavy snow, wind and poor visibility. There were delays at airports in Berlin, Dusseldorf and Munich, and the snow also brought train timetables into disarray.

British Airways cancelled almost 60 flights from Heathrow, and the Eurostar train operating between London, Paris and Brussels cancelled a third of all journeys.

Around 15,000 homes in southern France remained cut off from electricity supplies, as were 14,000 people in Silesia.

On the German island of Fehmarn in the Baltic Sea, the mayor said conditions were catastrophic as 13,000 people on the island were cut off by piles of snow up to two metres deep.

Italy experienced heavy snow in the north, where an avalanche killed a Dutch climber Friday. Further south, rivers including the Tiber burst their banks and uprooted trees. No casualties were reported.

In Britain, seven out of ten premier football league games were cancelled due to snow.

Meanwhile, Berlin’s sub-zero temperatures have also reportedly led to a proliferation of mice seeking refuge in the German parliament, German daily Bild reported.