‘Beast from East’ brings death, delays, sub-zero temperatures in Europe

Bucharest: 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 on Tuesday.

A Siberian weather system forecasters have called the "beast from the east" brought the coldest temperatures for years to many regions. The freeze was expected to continue for much of the week.

In southern Romania, an 83-year-old woman from Adancata was found collapsed in the snow and died on the way to hospital, the Institute for Emergency Situations (ISU) said. A 65-year-old man was found dead late on Monday in the eastern county of Suceava, an official told state news agency Agerpres.

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, Romanian police said, and Romania's Black Sea ports were closed.

(Photo: AFP)

Record snowfall of 182 cm (72 inches) paralysed the northern Croatian town of Delnice and rescue services took several hours to evacuate residents in the nearby village of Mrzle Vodice. Temperatures hit a low of -20 degrees Celsius in Zavizan on the Velebit mountain.

Schools were closed in Bucharest and ten Romanian counties as well as across western and central Croatia.

The roofs of dozens of houses collapsed under the weight of snow in the Unsko-Sanski canton in northwestern Bosnia.

State-run RTCG TV reported that Montenegro's main Golubovci airport was closed for several hours overnight.

A rare snowstorm in Rome on Monday prompted Italian authorities to call in the army to help clear the streets.