Winter storm paralyses eastern Canada, six dead

MONTREAL: A blizzard moving north from the United States caused car pileups and school closures, and left six dead as heavy snow and powerful winds paralysed eastern Canada on Wednesday.

Two men were found frozen to death in their snow- covered car outside of Quebec City. One of them had called emergency services for help late Tuesday but officials on snowmobiles were unable to reach them in time.

Two other motorists were killed in collisions on icy roads as blowing snow reduced visibility, and a 58-year old man died when he was struck by a snow plow.

Up to 70 centimetres of snow fell on parts of Ontario, Quebec and the coastal Maritimes region, according to Environment Canada’s weather office.

Officials measured winds of 100 to 140 kilometres per hour, which led to snow drifts that stranded more than 300 vehicles for almost 12 hours in Montreal and caused numerous vehicle pileups. Nearly 70,000 households lost power overnight. Snow- clearing equipment was overwhelmed, leaving firefighters to rescue people trapped in cars throughout the region.

The main highway between Toronto and Montreal remained closed after a 30-vehicle collision on Tuesday. The driver of an overturned truck carrying hydrofluoric acid died in the crash and several others were treated for exposure to the toxic spill. — AFP