State of Emergency Declared as Death Toll in European Cold Snap Rises to 61

  BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Officials suspended shipping along Europe's second-longest waterway on Tuesday as a polar spell gripped a large swathe of the continent, causing hardship especially among migrants, the homeless and the elderly. The deep freeze has caused at least 61 deaths since it began last week, a third of those in Poland. Romanian police halted shipping at midday for an undetermined period along a 900-kilometer (565-mile) stretch of the Danube River, which crosses Romania. Croatian and Serbian authorities also stopped river traffic on the Danube. In Serbia, shipping was banned on the River Sava because of icy conditions, which claimed another two lives in southern Serbia. Authorities said an 88-year-old man and his son, 64, died from freezing temperatures in the village of Duga Poljana, in the south, which has been hardest-hit by the recent cold spell. Serbian state TV reported the two victims, discovered by a man delivering bread from a neighboring village, were extremely poor. Three people have been found dead in the past three days in Macedonia as temperatures plunged to -20 C (-4 F). One 68-year old homeless man was found frozen to death in the capital, Skopje, while a 60-year-old man died in front of his home in the southern town in Strumica. An 80-year-old woman was discovered in her home in eastern Macedonia. Authorities urged homeless people to go to shelters and local schools, which are taking them in during the cold spell. In Albania, it snowed...
Source: JEMS: Journal of Emergency Medical Services News - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: News Major Incidents Source Type: news