At least 6 die as snow hits Balkans

Freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall have killed at least six people and caused travel chaos across the Balkans, with rescue teams struggling to reach people stranded in buses and cars in Serbia yesterday.

Officials said four people have died in Croatia and two in Serbia as a result of blizzards over the weekend, closing airports and roads and blocking public transportation in big cities.

People travelling in vehicles waited for hours on several roads in Serbia’s northern province of Vojvodina, including the main highway leading from Belgrade to the Hungarian border, before rescue teams could free them from 50cm (20in) of snow that had fallen in just a few hours.