Five Romanians have perished in the wake of heavy snowfalll that has continued, chiefly in southern Romania, since Thursday.

Over 1,000 cars have been trapped, as main roads and highways in the south and east, are still not cleaned, with snow drifts reaching 2 m at some places.

Night temperatures have already dropped to around -20-25 degrees Centigrade, additionally complicating the situation.

The same winter blizard wreaked havoc in northeastern Bulgaria Thursday and Friday, forcing a close down of the Romanian-Bulgarian border, and blocking roads.

Roads are currently reported clean, and schools and other facilities will be working next week in Bulgaria.

In Romania, where snowfall was heaver and longer, even roads leading into capital Bucharest are still obstructed.

Helicopters have to rescue people who had been stranded in their cars among snow drifts.

In the first half of the coming week, both Bulgaria and Romania are bracing for a cold spell that could bring temperatures below -25 in Bulgaria and -30 in Romania.