Transport chaos as cold snap grips Western Europe

A plane slid off an icy runway and powerful winds and heavy snow forced hundreds of flight cancellations across Europe today as blasts of freezing cold buffeted Western Europe.

More than 300 car accidents were reported on icy streets in the south-western state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, with more than 40 people injured. The western state of North Rhine-Westphalia reported 108 accidents.