Avalanche, accidents add snow-related deaths in Europe

BELGRADE, Serbia – Heavy snowfall this week in the Balkans has closed down schools, left some remote villages cut off and disrupted traffic and power supplies in the region, while authorities in Bulgaria said two snowboarders died in an avalanche Friday.

The Bulgarian Red Cross said in a statement the snowboarders’ bodies were found at noon local time in the Pirin Mountains. The statement alleged the two triggered the avalanche that killed them after ignoring warnings and weather alerts.

At least 20 weather-related deaths have been reported in Europe in the past week. In Germany, the driver of a snow plow died Friday after his vehicle toppled into an icy river. Albania’s Energy Ministry said a power company employee suffered a fatal heart attack while repairing damaged supply lines.

About 2,000 soldiers and other emergency workers in Albania were assigned to help people trapped by snow and to clear roads to restore access to rural areas.

Several municipalities in southwest Serbia have introduced emergency measures, warning of snow piling up on the roads and sealing off mountain villages, Serbian state TV reported Friday.

Most schools in the area closed down and 10 people had to be rescued from their homes. Strong winds complicated the conditions for emergency crews.

In neighboring Montenegro, meteorologist Dragan Buric said the first 10 days of January have been among the coldest in the country in decades.

“We have snow in January in the capital city (Podgorica) for the first time in nine years,” Buric told Montenegrin state TV.

In the central Bosnian municipality of Kladanj, snow disrupted power supplies and cut phone lines. Zijad Vejzovic, from the local civil protection agency, said authorities declared an emergency.

“Because of heavy snow, in some parts over 1 meter-high, some of the roads have been blocked,” he explained. “We need more machines. We have run out of resources and money.”

In Germany and Austria, where heavy snow caused fatal avalanches and major disruptions in the past few days, the situation Friday was somewhat calmer.

Still, airlines canceled around 120 flights at Frankfurt Airport and 90 at Munich Airport on Friday because of concerns about snow, German news agency DPA reported.

Police in Lenggries, south of Munich, said the 48-year-old snow plow driver was rescued from the river after several hours and died in a hospital.

In the eastern German city of Chemnitz, all planned burials at the municipal cemetery through Monday were called off because of snow.

Austrian military helicopters on Friday flew a group of 66 German teenagers out of a mountain guest house where they had been stuck for several days.

In Salzburg, all parks, public gardens, play areas and cemeteries were closed Friday because of the danger of trees falling under the weight of snow.

In eastern Switzerland, police said three people were slightly hurt when an avalanche hit a hotel at Schwaegalp on Thursday afternoon.