Hundreds stranded as blizzards hit Austria

Snow whipped by gale-force winds created a blizzard effect that has caused chaos across much of Austria today, stranding hundreds of motorists for hours on a key highway and knocking out power to thousands of homes.

Authorities closed the north-south A2 highway near the southern city of Graz for more than three hours after 12 inches of snow fell on the area.

At least two fatal accidents were reported, including a collision of two minivans that killed a 32-year-old man and injured two young children.

Police said several hundred cars spun out of control and ended up stuck in snowbanks along the highway, where visibility was poor as gusts exceeding 60 miles an hour blew snow into the air.

“It was a very serious situation. Even the firefighters had trouble driving through that weather,” said fire department spokesman Robert Karger.

Police reported numerous head-on collisions apparently caused when powerful gusts pushed cars over the centre line and into oncoming traffic.

Heavy winds were blamed for damage to homes, businesses and property across Austria, where thousands of households were without electricity.

Wind ripped a large advertising billboard from its aluminium frame and sent it crashing down onto a street near the UN complex in Vienna. No one was injured.

In the eastern province of Burgenland, a flower vendor’s van tumbled over an embankment, killing one of the passengers, an Egyptian national, and seriously injuring the two other occupants.

Firefighters in the south-western province of Carinthia worked overnight to clear streets of debris and remove fallen trees from rooftops and overhead power lines.

At the St Gilgen ski resort in Salzburg province, heavy winds prompted officials to cancel the gondola service shuttling skiers and snowboarders to the summit.

Local authorities also cancelled a mountain rescue exercise, saying it was too windy to conduct the training.