More deaths as Europe freezes

Heavy snow paralysed much of Europe for yet another day yesterday, cutting off mountain villages, sparking avalanches like one that crashed into a Swiss hotel, and killing at least four more people.

Workers at the Hotel Saentis in eastern Switzerland spent the day shovelling out hip-deep snow after a 300-metre-wide avalanche smashed through the hotel’s windows on Friday and piled up in rooms and the dining hall.

Swiss police said three people were hurt by an avalanche in Schwaegalp yesterday.

In all, at least 21 weatherrelated deaths have been reported in Europe in the last 10 days.

The Bulgarian Red Cross said two snowboarders died in an avalanche in southwest Bulgaria’s Pirin Mountains yesterday. A snowplough driver died in Germany after his vehicle toppled into an icy river, while an electrical worker in Albania suffered a fatal heart attack while repairing damaged power lines.

Austrian military helicopters flew 66 German teenagers out of a mountain guest house where they had been stuck for several days.

About 2000 soldiers and other emergency workers in Albania were assigned to help people trapped by snow and to clear roads to restore access to cut-off villages.

Several towns and cities in southwest Serbia introduced emergency measures, warning of snow piling up on the roads and sealing off mountain villages, Serbian state TV reported. Ten people had to be rescued from their homes. Strong winds complicated the work of emergency crews.

In neighbouring Montenegro, meteorologist Dragan Buric said the first 10 days of January were among the coldest the country had seen in decades. ‘‘We have snow in January in the capital city (Podgorica) for the first time in nine years.’’

In the central Bosnian municipality of Kladanj, snow disrupted power supplies and cut phone lines. Zijad Vejzovic, from the civil protection agency, said authorities had declared an emergency.

‘‘Because of heavy snow, in some parts over one metre high, some of the roads have been blocked,’’ Vejzovic said.

‘‘We need more machines. We have run out of resources and money.’’

Police in Lenggries, south of Munich, said the 48-year-old snowplough driver was rescued from the river after several hours but died in hospital.

In the elegant Austrian city of Salzburg, all parks, public gardens, play areas and cemeteries were closed yesterday because of the danger posed by trees cracking under the weight of snow.