600 die as bitter cold ravages eastern Europe

More than 600 people have died during a record-breaking cold snap in eastern Europe, authorities said yesterday, as officials in the Czech Republic blamed two massive car crashes on blinding snow.

Since the end of January, the region has been hit by the deep freeze, which has brought the heaviest blizzards in recent memory. Tens of thousands are trapped by walls of snow and blocked roads, and officials have struggled to reach the vulnerable with emergency food airlifts.

Authorities in Russia and Ukraine alone reported yesterday that more than 300 people had died in the bitter cold.

About 100 damaged cars yesterday blocked a major road in the Czech Republic connecting Prague with the eastern part of the country and Slovakia. Seven people were injured in two separate accidents, authorities said.

Authorities in Russia said 205 people had died this year in the cold, while Ukraine has had 112 cold fatalities and Poland had 107. Seven people died in Romania in the 24 hours from Tuesday night, bringing the toll there to 86. Deaths were also reported in Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia.

In Romania, some 23,000 people remain isolated in 225 communities, where more than a week of heavy snow has blocked roads and part of the railways.