Freezing temperatures strand thousands, kill scores more in Europe

Freezing temperatures left thousands of people stranded without power in the Balkans on Saturday, and killed scores more across the region, dpa reported.

Blizzards hit the Western Balkans Friday night and the heavy snowfall and gale-force winds were expected to last until Monday. The storms deposited a fresh layer of snow and created tall drifts, further hampering access to many areas in the region. Several villages were without stable electricity supply, as wind and snow knocked down power lines.

In Serbia, the authorities reported three new deaths from freezing Saturday, raising the toll to 19. An estimated 50,000 people remain isolated in remote villages. The energy situation has become critical, prompting the government to extend a two-day holiday next week to five days, keep schools closed and cut the power supply to non-essential factories.

In Croatia, 50 centimetres of snow was expected to fall on an average at the weekend. It even snowed on the country's southern Adriatic coast. Powerful winds blowing from the sea forced the Croatian road authority to close some sections of the Adriatic highway.

Many villages in mountainous regions in Bosnia have been cut off from the world since the start of the bad weather nearly two weeks ago. An army helicopter, with 11 people onboard including a television crew, was in an accident Friday. All of them survived, but suffered serious injuries.

Temperatures dropped to -32 degrees Celsius in Poland's southern Bieszczady Mountains. Eight people in Poland died in house fires, police said.

Heavy snowfall began hitting many parts of Italy - especially the central and southern regions - on Friday and six deaths have been linked to the cold weather.

These included two elderly women who in separate incidents - one near the town of Macerata the other near L'Aquila - died when ambulances taking them to hospital were stuck in the snow.

In north-eastern Trieste, at least 10 people were injured when winds with speeds of more than 130 kilometres per hour lashed the Adriatic port city.