Death toll rises as Europe remains locked in deep freeze

EUROPE’S relentless deep freeze, with sub-zero temperatures as far south as Sicily, have claimed several dozen more victims, closed schools and disrupted air, road and sea traffic.

Temperatures as low as minus 36C crippled power grids, burst frozen water pipes and caused thousands of road accidents across a swath of eastern Europe from the Baltic states to Turkey, Greece and Italy.

In Greece, rescuers struggled to save the 16-man crew of a cargo ship stranded in heavy seas in the Aegean Sea.