Treacherous ice is covering most of Bulgaria Wednesday, the National Weather Service reports.

The rain, brought in by a warmer air current from the Southwest is creating hazardous ice patches on many roads due to the extremely low temperatures right above ground.

Roads are dangerous and slippery in the regions of Sofia, Blagoevgrad, Pernik, Kyustendil, Vidin, Vratsa, Veliko Turnovo, Shumen, Turgovishte, Yambol, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora and Haskovo, the "Petrohan" mountain pass, the municipalities of Sevlievo and Lom.

Due to slippery conditions the main road from Sofia to the border checkpoint Kalotina as well as the Samokov-Dupnitsa and Ruse-Byala roads are closed.

Because of ice accumulating in the capital Sofia, public transportation vehicles are not servicing the suburbs outside the beltway Wednesday morning in the direction of Bistritsa, Simeonovo, Dragalevtsi, Bankya, among others. The traffic is being gradually restored with the cleaning and the sanding of the roads, the Sofia municipality reports.

In the city itself public transportation is running late, except the tram cars. The Traffic Police report numerous traffic jams and fender-benders.

The entire Northern part of the Plovdiv region remains blocked by the icy conditions with many people stranded on buses and cars. The manager of the local bus company "Hebros Bus" has ordered the temporary cancellation of all bus routes.

The National "Road Infrastructure" Agency announced that 32 snow plows and special vehicles are cleaning and sanding the roads in the Plovdiv region with 14 of them servicing the "Trakya" highway.

Many roads are closed with passengers stranded in vehicles in the regions of Ruse, Pleven, Yambol, Haskovo, Gabrovo, Veliko Turnovo. The situation in the region of Vratsa is reported as extremely serious with the closure of two main roads and sections of E-79 while in the town of Montana, the Civil Defense has canceled all bus routes and a sanding machine has been involved in a traffic accident.

The National "Road Infrastructure" Agency warns about traffic restrictions on all roads in the country advising drivers to obey the directions of the Traffic Police and to cancel trips if at all possible. Doncho Donchev, Chief of the Agency's Operational Staff stated that the current icy conditions in Bulgaria equal a natural disaster.

The Darik radio has received numerous calls from Sofia and all over Bulgaria from listeners complaining about dangerous roads that remain untreated and reporting witnessing many traffic accidents.

The slippery conditions could trigger complete traffic halts in some locations and can be risky for pedestrians. The ice can also damage power lines, accumulate on trees and roofs, which could further lead to harmful incidents.

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