ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 31, 1996 TAG: 9612310096
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BUCHAREST, ROMANIA
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
The death toll from days of bitter cold, snow and ice across Europe reached more than 140 on Monday. Many of the victims were homeless or old people in the continent's poorest areas.
Avalanches and frigid temperatures have claimed lives from Spain to Moscow. But most of the deaths were reported in Eastern Europe: Romania, where at least 43 people died; Poland, where doctors put the toll at 28; and Bulgaria, where at least 19 died.
Much of the continent was expected to remain icy through New Year's celebrations.
Heavy snow also stranded motorists, closed air and sea ports, delayed buses and trains, and led to hundreds of traffic accidents.
In Bulgaria, a family of three froze to death when their car got stuck in deep snow near the Black Sea town of Varna.
Two people were killed Sunday in accidents on icy Dutch roads. More than 200 accidents were reported in northern and central Switzerland because of ice and snow. One fatality was reported.
British newspapers reported that a married couple died after falling through the ice on a frozen lake in Essex as they tried to rescue their dog.
At least nine people died in France, six in Germany, and four in Austria. Six people were killed by an avalanche in Turkey.
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