Cold snap strands thousands of European travellers

A skier approaches the Capitol under heavy snowfall on Saturday in Washington, DC.Photo: AFP

Tens of thousands of European travellers were stranded yesterday in rail stations, traffic jams and airports as heavy snow and ice caused massive disruption at the start of the Christmas holiday season.
At least 19 people froze to death, mainly in Poland and mostly homeless people or drinkers caught out in temperatures that were glacial across the region, plunging as low as minus 33 Celsius (minus 27 Fahrenheit) in parts of Germany.
Forecasters across the continent are expecting more snow and freezing rain over the next couple of days, but with temperatures rising slightly and the outlook gradually improving in the run-up to Christmas Day on Friday.
Roads and railways were closed or disrupted by snow drifts, black ice or floods across northern and western Europe, from Portugal to the Netherlands, and flights from London, Brussels and Paris airports were delayed.
The most crippling problems hit cross-Channel transport between Britain and France, amid chaotic scenes after the Eurostar passenger service from London to Paris was shut down following at least five breakdowns.
Eurostar, the operator of the Channel Tunnel passenger trains, admitted it could not say when services would resume, with more than 24,000 passengers attempting to travel ahead of Christmas already affected.
The company said it would send test trains along the route to see if they could withstand the sub-zero temperatures in northern France, which are believed to have caused trains to break down in the tunnel late Friday.