Flights grounded in Europe

2005-12-29 17:36

Paris - France reported a second death on Thursday from freezing temperatures as blizzards swept through northern and central Europe, forcing flight cancellations at Prague airport and cutting power lines and rail links in Scandinavia.

Much of the continent was battened down against the harsh weather, the coldest December in a decade in Britain, where temperatures plunged to -11°C overnight in Scotland and northeastern England.

In France, where snowstorms left thousands of people trapped in their cars in sub-freezing temperatures this week, road conditions remained icy and dangerous in many areas, but the only serious disruptions were in western Brittany and around Calais in the north.

Most of the country has gone on winter alert, opening extra shelters to protect homeless people from the cold, which claimed a second victim overnight.

Frozen to death

The victim, a 52-year-old woman, was found dead of cold outside the wooden shack where she lived in the northwestern town of Le Mans. Police said she had suffered from poor health and had a drinking problem.

A homeless man in his 40s was found dead in a car on Tuesday in the central-eastern city of Lyon, thought to have died of cold.

Prague's Ruzyne airport, the busiest in central and eastern Europe, was closed down overnight due to heavy snowfall, forcing carriers to cancel around 50 flights, both incoming and outgoing.

The airport reopened by mid-day Thursday, though officials continue to deal with high winds whipping snow onto the runways.

Florence airport in northern Italy was also temporarily closed because of snow.

High-speed train services from Paris to Lille, as well as Thalys and Eurostar links to London and Brussels were coping with short delays of up to 40 minutes, as drivers were told to reduce their speed.

Across Scandinavia, snowstorms cut power lines and disrupted rail and road traffic, with the situation expected to worsen in some places.

In southern Sweden, many were left without power in harsh below-freezing temperatures by snowstorms packing high winds, the TT news agency reported.

In the southern Scania region, dozens of local and regional train services were cancelled after the tracks were snowed under, with fallen trees and ripped cables on several sections of the network.

Sixteen people were injured in traffic accidents on icy roads in Finland, where more snow was expected in the south.

A snowstorm also swept Denmark overnight, causing train delays, truck accidents and blocking several smaller roads, the Ritzau news agency reported.

In Switzerland, around 20 people were hurt in road accidents, including a 59-year-old man was seriously injured when his car skidded on ice.

In Turkey, where snow and ice claimed four lives and cut road access to several thousand villages this week, temperatures dropped to -33°C in some eastern mountain regions.

- AFP