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Snow brings deaths and travel chaos to Europe
2009-02-02
LONDON (AFP) - Snow storms brought travel chaos to western Europe on Monday closing London-Heathrow airport after one jet slid off a taxiway and at least five people were killed in storm incidents. Two climbers died on Mount Snowdown in Wales and three people were killed in accidents and from the cold in Italy. London lay under 10 centimetres (four inches) of snow, the most recorded in the British capital in 18 years. The storms also hit France and Spain, closing roads and rail tracks, and spread as far south as Morocco. A Cyprus Airways plane with 104 passengers came off the icy taxiway at Heathrow, the world's busiest international airport. "The plane had safely landed and was making its way to the stand and the front wheel went on to the grass area," a spokeswoman for airport operator BAA said. No injuries were reported. Both runways were closed, however, and Heathrow halted all flights until at least 5:00 pm (1700 GMT). British Airways called off all short-haul flights for Monday. A number of other British airports were closed or had cancellations and severe delays. Eurostar advised passengers against travelling between London and Paris on high-speed trains because of snow delays. British regional trains were badly hit and London underground and bus services came to a near standstill. Thousands of schools closed around the country and an army of snow ploughs and gritters worked to clear roads. The British Highways Agency advised against all but essential travel but there was still a 54 mile (87 kilometre) tailback on the M25 orbital road north of London, reports said. "It's absolute madness going in to work, but at least I can say I tried," said Bree McWilliam, an Australian policy analyst who experienced her first ever snowfall as she struggled into work. Three people were killed by the cold and torrential rainstorms in Italy. One man died from the cold in the northern town of Lecco, another was killed in Sicily when his car was swept away by a river. About 500 people were evacuated from their homes in Cosenza in the southern region of Calabria, while snow also forced the cancellation of about 20 flights from Rome and Milan. Air France cancelled about 30 flights from Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport and other flights were delayed. One runway was closed at Paris-Orly causing big delays. Some French high-speed trains were cancelled and those that did run were ordered to slow. France's roads agency also urged motorists to cancel non-essential journeys, with some roads impassable around Paris and in the east around Strasbourg where dozens of accidents were reported. Up to 20 centimetres of snow also fell in parts of Switzerland while part of the road around the San Bernardino tunnel was closed. In Belgium, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) of traffic jams were reported during the morning rush hour around Brussels and other main cities. Snowfalls snarled traffic in several parts of Spain including the Madrid area where two highways were temporarily closed, the National Travel Administration Department (DGT) reported. A storm packing winds of more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) an hour injured about a dozen people in southern Spain, emergency services said. Most of the injuries were cuts and bruises from flying debris as the storm knocked down tree branches and advertising billboards and tore off parts of roofs, a spokeswoman said. In the Mediterranean port of Malaga, winds ripped off part of the roof from the city's main bus station. Four people were injured, including one in a serious condition. At Estepona, near Marbella, the storm knocked down a circus tent during a performance Sunday night, slightly injuring five members of the public. In Ireland, snow caused hazardous driving conditions and flights to Britain were disrupted. Ireland's Meteorological Office warned of "heavy snowfall" expected later Monday.
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