Early snow snarls Europe traffic
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – An early winter storm brought several centimeters of snow across parts of Europe, snarled traffic and caused accidents that left two people dead and two others injured Friday. Numerous flights were delayed or canceled.
German police said there were several accidents Thursday night and early Friday morning, with traffic delays lasting hours because of jackknifed trucks on the highway and cars that slipped on snow-covered roads.
At Frankfurt International Airport, continental Europe’s busiest, some 87 flights were delayed or canceled, Fraport AG spokesman Robert Payne said. However, more than 20 of those were due to a strike in Italy.
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Scores of travelers spent the night in community centers and hotels near the northeastern French city of Nancy, where road crews worked through the night to clear about a foot of snow. France closed its border with Italy until mid-afternoon Wednesday because of heavy snowfall.
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Unusually heavy snow and high winds have been lashing Europe, causing the deaths of at least 17 people.
The worst of the weather was in Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland.
Thousands of people in France and southern Germany spent a night trapped in their cars, trains or emergency shelters because of the heavy snow.
Most of the deaths happened in road accidents, but two more people died in avalanches in what looks like being one of the worst seasons on record.
The southern German city of Munich received a snow dump of more than 40 centimetres. A passenger plane
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The death toll from Europe's extreme cold snap continues to rise as snow sweeping south is paralysing transport in France, Switzerland and Italy and has been blamed for a fatal crash in Spain.
In Poland, where the temperature had plummeted to minus 35
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In Romania, where the mercury was forecast to fall to minus 25C over the weekend, five more people died. A total of 55 Romanians have perished this winter.
In France, where there were snow