Dozens more die as extreme cold sweeps Europe

BONE-CHILLING Arctic weather claimed dozens more lives after an already deadly weekend, with 24 freezing deaths in a day in Ukraine alone, and rising tolls in Turkey, Poland, Russia and Germany.

The freezing Arctic weather sweeping across northern and eastern Europe has claimed well over 100 lives since last week, with unusually low temperatures predicted to continue in some regions at least until tomorrow.

Twenty-seven people have perished from exposure in Poland since Friday, with overnight temperatures dipping to 32C, bringing to 150 the number who have died this winter, police said.

Nearly half of the dead were homeless, of whom 90% died while drunk.

The government said Russian gas deliveries were 34% below their contracted level yesterday and Polish energy group PGNiG said on Sunday it would reduce supplies to heavy industry to make up for increased demand from households and public institutions.

Last week, Russian gas behemoth Gazprom acknowledged it could not satisfy the gas needs of western Europe because the extreme cold had caused Russian demand to soar.

Bosnia, entirely dependent on Russia for is natural gas needs, reported that supplies were down 25% since last Wednesday, with a smaller decrease in supplies to Italy registered as well.

In the Czech Republic, part of the Temelin nuclear power plant was disconnected from the grid for five hours after the cold affected a sensor, causing the system to reduce the power of the reactor, a spokesman said.

In Moscow eight people succumbed to the sub-zero temperatures over the weekend, bringing the death toll this winter to nearly 90. Another 31 people were hospitalised for hypothermia.

The freeze was particularly painful for the numerous children sleeping rough in the Russian capital, where the temperature averaged -20C over the weekend.

Twenty-four people have died in Ukraine in the past 24 hours as a result of extreme cold, the health ministry said yesterday, bringing to at least 45 the number of deaths since temperatures plunged last week.

Some 371 people have been hospitalised, most of them suffering from frostbite and various stages of hypothermia.

In the eastern region of Lugansk, where temperatures plunged to -34C some 60,000 people were left without heating after a central heating plant in the city of Altshevsk broke down. The facility was repaired early yesterday.

In Germany four people froze to death after the mercury dropped in some regions to -24C.

At least 41 people have frozen to death in the Baltic states where the cold froze heating, water and sewage pipes.