Icy cold snap grips swathes of Europe, disrupting travel

Freezing weather gripped swathes of Europe on Tuesday, with snow and icy conditions forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights in the Netherlands and leading to the deaths of five people on French roads.

All domestic rail services in the Netherlands were suspended early on Tuesday after an IT outage compounded disruption across the country's rail network. Trains began running in parts of the country after 0900 GMT, but problems persisted in the region around Amsterdam, a popular tourist destination.

High-speed Eurostar services to Paris from Amsterdam were either cancelled or running late. At the city's Schiphol airport, over 400 flights were cancelled, most of them by the Dutch unit of Air France-KLM, as the winter weather crippled traffic at one of Europe's main transit hubs for a fifth day.

Spanish national Javier Sepulveda was stuck at Schiphol trying to get back to his home in Norway for the third day. He said he started queuing at the KLM help desk at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday and that six hours later he was still not close to reaching the front of the line.

"I can only describe the situation ... as chaotic, insane," the 39-year-old said.

SNOW FALLS OVER LARGE PARTS OF GERMANY AND FRANCE

In Germany, temperatures fell well below minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) in the south and east early on Tuesday.

Large parts of the country were covered in snow, including regions close to the North Sea, where thick layers of snow have become increasingly uncommon. Meteorologists forecast a storm to hit the country on Friday, with heavy snowfall expected in the north and east.

In France, a prolonged cold snap saw freezing temperatures overnight after snow across the Paris region and large parts of the country on Monday. Six small airports were shut in the west and north of France but no cancellations were anticipated at Paris' two main airports.

Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot urged people to travel as little as possible on the roads and to work from home, warning that thawed snow which subsequently re-froze overnight made for dangerous road conditions.

Five people have been killed in road accidents linked to the freezing conditions since Monday, BFMTV and other French media reported. In Paris, bus services were chaotic as services resumed following their suspension on Monday.

SNOW-LADEN TREE CRUSHES WOMAN IN SARAJEVO

Meanwhile, in the UK, the Meteorological Office on Monday said winter weather hazards could continue throughout the week for most of the country. It issued an amber warning, its second-most severe after red, for snow in central Scotland.

Heavy snow and rain have also caused havoc across the Western Balkans this week, closing roads, cutting power and causing rivers to flood. A woman died in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo on Monday after a tree overburdened with wet snow fell on her.