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Severe Winter Weather Batters Europe

   Lisa Bryant | Paris 21 December 2009
   St. Mark's Square, in Venice, 19 Dec 2009

Photo: AP

   St. Mark's Square, in Venice, 19 Dec 2009

   Severe winter weather has hit Europe, canceling flights and trains and
   causing several dozen deaths.
   Winter  storms  and plunging temperatures have created an avalanche of
   transportation problems in Europe as many people prepare to travel for
   end-of-year holidays.
   A  breakdown  of  train  service  by  cross-English  channel  operator
   Eurostar  has  left  thousands of people stranded in Paris, London and
   Brussels.  Five  Eurostar  trains broke down over the weekend, leaving
   customers who were on them stuck inside for hours.
   The   French   government  has  launched  an  investigation  into  the
   breakdown,  And  French  President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered Eurostar to
   resume service Tuesday
   Earlier, Eurostar executive Nicolas Petrovic predicted limited service
   would likely resume on Tuesday.
   Petrovic told France-Info radio that Eurostar wants the transportation
   to  resume  smoothly  and everything to go well.  He said full service
   could resume after Christmas.
   But that has not stopped passengers from grumbling.
   One  French  man,  Vincent,  told  French  radio  that  he  and  other
   passengers  were  stuck  overnight  in  a  Eurostar  train  .  He said
   passengers  were irate and nobody was taking care of them.  The French
   government  has launched an investigation into the breakdown, with one
   French minister, Jean-Louis Borloo, describing Eurostar's treatment of
   its customers as "unbelievable."
   Bad  weather  has  walloped  other European countries.  Heavy snowfall
   forced  Germany's Duesseldorf airport to close.  Travelers in Belgian,
   Dutch  and French airports also faced flight delays and icy conditions
   sparked a slowdown on the Belgium-Italy rail route.
   More  than  30  people  have died from the cold in Poland, Austria and
   Germany  in  recent  days.   Most  of  the  deaths,  at least 29, have
   occurred  in  Poland,  where  temperatures  fell as low as -20 degrees
   Celsius during the weekend.
   Road  accidents  due  to  icy weather killed roughly a dozen others in
   Finland, France, Germany and Austria.

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