Freezing temperatures, heavy snow and high winds threw parts of southeastern Europe into chaos, claiming dozens of lives and overwhelming emergency services in the usually temperate region. At least five people, including two schoolboys, froze to death in Turkey, while 15 sailors from a Greek-owned cargo ship were feared dead after the vessel sank in gale-force winds in the Mediterranean. Turkish authorities were forced to shut down the key shipping route linking the Black Sea to the Mediterranean via the Bosphorus after strong winds and snow severely impaired visibility. Thirteen people died in two days in traffic accidents around Egypt brought on by rain and sandstorms. Bad weather hit Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Greece, with wind gusts up to 140 kilometres per hour cutting electricity to scores of towns in Bulgaria, and a state of emergency announced on the northern Greek island of Limnos.

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