Sat, May 26 2012

Cold kills more than 30 people throughout eastern Europe

Mon, Jan 30 2012 17:40 CET

byThe Sofia Echo staff

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Cold kills more than 30 people throughout eastern Europe

Photo: Reuters

At least 18 people have died in Ukraine, 10 in Poland, three in Serbia and one in Bulgaria after temperatures plunged to minus double figures in recent days.

Temperatures in Sofia registered minus 12 Celsius at 5.30pm on January 30, in Plovdiv also minus 12 degrees, in Varna minus 10 degrees and minus 14 degrees in Vidin. A bitterly cold night was forecast throughout the country.

In Ukraine, where temperatures plunged to minus 23 degrees overnight, nearly 500 people were treated for frostbite and hypothermia in just three days and about 17 000 people had to be accommodated in 1500 shelters.

In Serbia, police reported the deaths of a woman and two elderly men. Two other men, both believed to be elderly, are missing in the south of the country.

In Sofia, as previously reported in The Sofia Echo, emergency shelters offering food and heat are being set up to deal with the cold snap that is expected to last all this week.

Even the UK, usually immune from extreme weather conditions, is not escaping the cold snap. Temperatures in central England are likely to fall to minus 10 degrees in some places this week, especially from Thursday onwards, according to weather forecasters.

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