PARIS, Jan 24: A cold snap gripped much of western Europe on Monday with temperatures dipping below zero and snow and ice affecting traffic in many areas.
Traffic around Germany was held up in several regions as snow blocked roads and ice made driving difficult, police said, with some 70 weather-related traffic jams across the country.
In the north western North Rhine-Westphalia region, Germany's most populated, police said there more than 760 accidents from Sunday afternoon thru Monday morning.
Icy conditions in southern Germany near the border with Austria between Passau and Ratisbonne caused a massive pile-up of at least 15 trucks and 20 cars, injuring 18 people.
At least 25 accidents were reported on the main highway near Delmenhorst, northern Germany, due to icy roads, leaving one person seriously injured and many people hurt. The road was temporarily closed.
In Saxony state, in the southeast, the driver of a truck transporting wooden planks lost control of his vehicle near Chemnitz. It hit a car and overturned on the road, blocking both lanes for several hours.
The driver, 33, escaped with minor head injuries. In Britain, motorists were being warned of potentially hazardous road conditions on Monday, with snowfalls expected to hit eastern parts of the country.
Up to five centimetres of snow, as well as hail and sleet, was expected to fall on eastern Scotland and eastern parts of England, ranging from the far south to Northumberland in the north.
There was even a small chance of some snow in London, which in recent years has rarely seen snowfalls. Temperatures also dipped in France, prompting the government to declare an alert calling for more space in homeless shelters. -AFP
