4 Dec 2010

Death toll rises in northern Europe

6:06 am on 4 December 2010

At least 60 people have died in the cold sweeping across northern Europe.

Seventeen people died in central Europe in the last 24 hours from the cold, bringing the total this week to 45. A further 11 died in Russia, plus three in France and one in Germany.

At least 30 people, mainly homeless men, have died in Poland where temperatures dropped to minus 15 degrees Celsius on Friday night.

Snow and ice have badly disrupted air, rail and road traffic.

Gatwick airport in London reopened on Friday after a three-day shutdown due to snow, but Heathrow and Glasgow have warned of more cancellations and delays.

Temperatures in Moscow were minus 24 degrees Celsius, the lowest for decades.

Meanwhile, serious flooding after heavy rainfall prompted mass evacuations in the Balkans on Friday.

Thousands of people have been forced from their homes in Albania, Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro.