REUTERS.COM: More than 60 people have died in a cold snap across Eastern Europe, authorities said on Tuesday, forcing some countries to call in the army to help secure food and medical supplies and set up emergency shelters for the homeless.
The temperature in Ukraine sank to minus 33 degrees Celsius (minus 27 Fahrenheit), the coldest in six years, while eastern Bosnia experienced lows of minus 31C and Poland, Romania and Bulgaria minus 30C.
Forecasters said the cold spell would last until Friday with further heavy snow expected across the region on Wednesday.
At least 30 people, most of them homeless, have died in Ukraine in the past five days, the Emergencies Ministry said. Another 500 people were treated in hospital for frostbite and other cold-related ailments. » | Reuters | Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Richard Balmforth in Kiev, Tsvetelia Tsolova in Sofia, Daria Sito-Sucic in Sarajevo, Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade; Writing by Janet Lawrence; Editing by Mark Heinrich | KIEV | Tuesday, January 31, 2012
The Big Freeze Hits Eastern Europe »
