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The big freeze continued to overwhelm parts of
eastern Europe today as record snowfall and harsh temperatures brought
entire regions to a standstill.
Serbia and Bosnia shut schools and struggled to continue public
transport and rubbish collections, as authorities focused on trying to
help thousands trapped in remote mountain villages.
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People across the continent were continuing to dig out from heavy snow
after a week of bitter cold in which the death toll, mostly homeless
people, continues to rise into the hundreds. Temperatures have fallen as
low as minus 36 Celsius in Ukraine, the hardest-hit country.
The big freeze has caused traffic chaos throughout Europe, blocking
roads, and shutting down airports.
But it has also offered opportunities for snowy fun: Ice skaters in the
Netherlands were hopeful they could stage a race that has not happened
in more than a decade; children in Rome and along the usually temperate
Adriatic coast in Croatia frolicked in rare snow; and Bosnians in the
capital, Sarajevo, spontaneously organised a winter "Olympics" in which
they boarded down main streets and leapt out of windows into deep snow
banks.
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The Serbian government late on Sunday declared an emergency situation
with 70,000 people cut off by the heavy snow.
It included shutting down all primary schools and high schools for a
week to save power and keep children safe. Thrilled, hundreds of
youngsters filled the parks in the capital, Belgrade.
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In Bosnia, hundreds of villages are cut off behind snowed-in roads and
avalanches and rescuers were using helicopters to evacuate the sick and
deliver food. Authorities said they have had no contact for 72 hours
with about 120 people in the central village of Zijemlja, where
residents have no electricity or phone lines.
In the capital Sarajevo thousands of people trudged to work, with only
occasional buses braving the deep snow. Volunteers, meanwhile, cleared
tram lines.
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In Poland nine more people died of hypothermia. Two elderly people were
found frozen in Serbia and Bosnia, and Croatia reported four
snow-related deaths.
Ukraine said the country's death toll now stands at 131, including many
homeless people. About 2,300 other Ukrainians have sought treatment for
frostbite or hypothermia.
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In the Netherlands, however, the deep freeze means the country's almost
mythical "Eleven Cities Tour" ice skating marathon could be staged later
this month for the first time in 15 years.
The race, held along a 125-mile network of canals connecting 11 towns
and cities in Friesland province, would cause a national frenzy, drawing
thousands of participants and more than a million spectators. It was
last held in 1997.
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