Romanian military flies food in to stranded towns

[February 13, 2012]  BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) -- Military planes flew in tons of emergency food Monday to towns and villages in eastern Romania, where thousands have been stranded. Some people were cutting tunnels through up to 15 feet (4 meters) of snow to get out of their homes.

Since the end of January, Eastern Europe has been pummeled by the heaviest snowfall in recent memory and a record-setting cold snap. Hundreds of people, many of them homeless, have died and tens of thousands of others have been trapped by blocked roads inside homes with little heat.

Authorities declared an alert Monday in eastern Romania, where 6,000 people have been cut off for days. About a dozen major roads were closed, 300 trains canceled and more than 1,000 schools shut down.

In addition to the food flights, the defense ministry said 8,000 soldiers were clearing roads across Romania and helping people trapped by the snow, which was up to 15 feet (four meters) high in some eastern parts.

Authorities said the death toll in Romania was up to 74.

In Serbia, tens of thousands are still stranded by the snow, while schools and most businesses remained idle for the second week due to emergency measures to save energy.

An avalanche hit western Serbia late Sunday near the artificial lake of Perucac, sweeping away a man as his wife and child waited in the car nearby. Rescuers say divers will look for the man in the lake.

Emergency officials also plan to use helicopters to pull out sailors stuck on stranded boats on the Danube river near the Serbian town of Smederevo, as well as to deliver food to a Danube island near Pancevo, north of the capital of Belgrade.

The Danube, one of Europe's key waterways, has been frozen over for hundreds of miles, costing shippers millions.

In Montenegro, rescuers started evacuating some 50 passengers who have been stranded for three days on a train that was blocked inside a tunnel by an avalanche. So far, a little girl and two elderly people have been pulled out and evacuated by helicopter, said Dragan Samardzic, Montenegro army chief of staff.

Montenegro has asked neighboring countries for bigger helicopters so it can evacuate more people at a time, he said.

In the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, the roof of the Grbavica stadium partially collapsed Monday under the weight of heavy snow but no one was injured. That occurred a day after the roof of the nearby Skenderija sports stadium -- used for ice skating at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo -- also collapsed.

Bosnia has been paralyzed with record snowfall for over a week. Temperatures as low as minus 22 Celsius (minus 8 Fahrenheit)have made it difficult to clear the snow.

[Associated Press]

Jovana Gev contributed from Belgrade, Aida Cerkez from Sarajevo.

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