Big freeze kills two in Romania and sparks transport chaos

Two people were found dead in Romania as snow and sub-zero temperatures across much of Europe saw flights cancelled, road and rail transport disrupted and schools closed yesterday.

The “beast from the east” brought the coldest temperatures for years to many regions and the freeze was expected to continue for much of the week.

A woman, 83, in southern Romania was found collapsed in the snow and died on the way to hospital, the Institute for Emergency Situations said. And a man, 65, was found dead late on Monday in the eastern county of Suceava.

Parts of a motorway linking the capital Bucharest to Constanta and dozens of other roads were closed. More than 80 trains and 15 flights were cancelled, and Romania’s ports were closed.

Record snow of 182 centimetres paralysed the northern Croatian town of Delnice and rescue services took hours to move residents in the nearby village of Mrzle Vodice. Temperatures hit a low of minus 20°C in Zavizan.

Schools were closed in Bucharest and 10 counties, and across western and central Croatia. Montenegro’s main airport was closed for hours.

In Britain, parts of the east had up to 10cm of snow and the weather service said temperatures could fall towards minus 10°C in rural areas.

In London, snow covered some parts of Westminster and a blizzard briefly swept through Canary Wharf.

A snowstorm in Rome on Monday prompted Italian authorities to call in the army to help clear the streets. As the storm moved south yesterday, Naples had a 62-year record snowfall.