Thousands of air and rail passengers were left stranded and roadways were paralyzed across Europe Thursday after a cold snap brought heavy snow and bitterly cold temperatures from London to Moscow.
Snow drifts and ice caused the cancellation of more than 200 flights Wednesday at Britain’s Heathrow, the world’s busiest international airport, and another 90 flights were to be canceled Thursday.
In Moscow, prosecutors threatened to take legal action over improper snow removal after a sharp increase in injuries to pedestrians on slippery sidewalks.
Heavy snows delayed or canceled most flights at Brussels’ international airport as crews worked to remove ice from planes and runways.
In Frankfurt, at least 20 flights were canceled and dozens more were delayed due to snow.
Snowfall ranging from a half-inch to 11 inches blanketed most of Britain Wednesday, and temperatures dropped to 23 degrees Fahrenheit overnight.
The ice and unusually widespread snowfall closed scores of roads and rail passengers experienced delays and cancellations across the country.
Conditions were still severe in the Netherlands Thursday, as snow, ice, hail and driving winds caused traffic jams stretching for hundreds of miles during the morning rush hour.
In northern France, snowfall of up four inches overnight caused some disruptions to morning rush-hour, with heavy goods vehicles banned from using highways for much of the morning.
Morning rail commuters into Paris experienced delays of several hours in some cases.
Russia’s Interfax news agency, quoting medical sources, said 72 people had been injured on icy sidewalks in the past 24 hours.
“We have already opened several criminal cases,” Svetlana Petrenko, a spokeswoman for Moscow City prosecutor’s office said by telephone. “Yesterday a man was killed by a falling icicle. It was a dreadful sight.”
