27 January 2006 More lives claimed by European freeze
Freezing conditions have claimed the lives of more than 200 people across Eastern Europe.
In the Ukraine alone 53 people have died, as well as 37 people in Romania, while Poland has suffered 14 deaths in the last 24 hours.
A large number of these victims have been homeless, with the cold weather causing heart attacks, hypothermia, excessive alcohol consumption and breathing problems, reports Reuters.
In Italy and Germany freezing temperatures and snowfall have caused major disruptions to road traffic and flights; Frankfurt airport - continental Europe's busiest - had to cancel around 20 inbound and outbound flights.
A Swiss airline jet carrying 40 passengers skidded off the runway at Stuttgart in south-west Germany, causing the airport to be closed to incoming planes for around two hours.
Romanian and Bulgarian ports on the Black Sea have had to close due to ice, high winds and heavy seas, while all Mediterranean ports have been closed. One ship sank in the Aegean Sea during a snowstorm, claiming 14 lives. 
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