Five dead in weather accidents as cold snap grips Europe

Freezing temperatures disrupted travel for a second day running in the UK, France and the Netherlands – Copyright AFP Oli SCARFF

Below-freezing winter temperatures plunged swathes of Europe into a second day of travel chaos on Tuesday, with weather-related accidents leading to five deaths from the cold snap in France alone. 

Three people died in accidents linked to black ice in southwestern France on Monday morning, authorities said, while a taxi driver died in hospital on Monday night after veering into the Marne river in the Paris region.

His passenger was still being treated for hypothermia, according to a police source, while another driver also lost his life east of Paris on Monday after a collision with a heavy goods vehicle.

Across the English Channel in Britain, the mercury plunged to -12.5C overnight in Norfolk, eastern England, while temperatures below -10C across the Netherlands brought trains to a standstill on Tuesday morning. 

“Last night was the coldest night of the winter so far,” Britain’s Met Office said, with nearly all of the United Kingdom on alert for snow and ice and more snowfall expected. 

Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, the Netherlands’ main flight hub, saw a second day of weather-driven cancellations, with more than 400 flights grounded Tuesday and travellers facing huge queues at the airline counters.

Trains from the Dutch national railway operator NS only began rolling again after 10:00 am (0900 GMT), with services limited afterwards. 

But planes got off the ground again from Liverpool in northwest England and Aberdeen in northeast Scotland, after the cold forced both airports to close on Monday. 

– ‘Like climbing Mont Blanc’ –

More than 300 schools were shut in Scotland Tuesday, the national BBC broadcaster reported, with Scottish train services also severely disrupted. 

“Tuesday will bring more severe snow and ice to the north of Scotland — and with it, continued travel disruption and risks to people and communities,” Scottish transport minister Fiona Hyslop warned late on Monday.

“It’s important that people plan ahead, consider their travel plans and work from home if that’s an option.”

Several smaller French airports were closed on Tuesday, according to the transport ministry.

But the main Paris airports of Orly and Charles de Gaulle remained open with no flights cancelled.

In the French capital proper, Monday’s snowfall had settled overnight across much of Paris’s pavements, with pedestrians forced to navigate the treacherously icy streets and cobbles. 

Tour guide Valeria Pitchouguina said the sight of Paris snowed under was “truly extraordinary”, but the ice was complicating efforts to shepherd her groups up the steep steps  to the picture-postcard district of Montmartre. 

“When it’s like that and snowy and icy, it’s something else, it’s less like climbing Montmartre and more like climbing Mont Blanc,” Pitchouguina told AFPTV. 

Hungary meanwhile likewise braced for a second day of fresh snowfall Tuesday, with some roads and railways already impassable, especially in the northeast.

Construction and Transport Minister Janos Lazar urged Hungarians to only head out “if absolutely necessary”.

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