Ice breakers called in as icy conditions across Europe worsen and deathtoll reaches 400

February 7, 2012 – EUROPE — Authorities used explosives, icebreakers and tractors Tuesday in the battle to overcome Europe’s big freeze, as dozens more died of hypothermia and tens of thousands remained cut off by snow. Around 400 people have now died from the cold weather in Europe since the cold snap began 11 days ago. While there was some respite for people in Ukraine — where more than 130 deaths have been recorded — the mercury plunged overnight to minus 39.4 degrees Celsius in the Kvilda region of the Czech Republic. More bodies were found either on the streets, in their cars or in their homes in Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Hungary and across the Balkans. Conditions worsened when snow- and rain-swollen rivers burst a Bulgarian dam and killed at least eight, while more homeless people perished on frigid city streets. National radio reported two other people were killed when their car was swept off a bridge. “People are in panic,” regional mayor Mihail Liskov said on national radio. “Ninety percent of the village is under water.” Two larger dams in southern Bulgaria risked spilling over and residents were told to prepare to evacuate. Heavy rains also triggered a landslide that derailed a train near the Turkish border. No injuries were reported. Meanwhile, temperatures in Poland plunged to as low as minus 24 degrees Celsius (minus 11 Fahrenheit), bringing another deadly night for the homeless. As has been the case throughout the 10-day-old cold snap, transients have borne the brunt of the suffering, with frozen victims found in abandoned and unheated homes, fire escapes or makeshift shelters on Europe’s streets. In a bid to save lives, Poland’s homeless shelters have dropped a ban on drunken individuals. Monika Golebiewska, a Warsaw police officer whose beat is a daily patrol bringing food and clothing to the homeless in the city’s hardscrabble Praga district, said she has been unrelentingly busy since the cold snap started. –Terra Earth – National Post