Death toll from Europe cold snap nears 300

The Arctic cold snap that has hit Europe for over a week had claimed nearly 300 lives by Sunday, brought air travel chaos to London and dumped snow as far south as Rome and even North Africa.

The grim winter toll rose in Ukraine, Poland, Italy and France, where two homeless people found frozen to death were the latest victims, with authorities across the continent reporting at least 297 fatalities.

In Italy, which reported a seventh victim, snow-covered Rome was virtually paralyzed, thousands of people were trapped on trains, and the weather emergency sparked runs on supermarkets.

In worst-hit Ukraine, another nine deaths raised the toll to 131 -- most of them homeless people who perished on the streets -- since the deep freeze started nine days ago, said the emergencies ministry.

Some 1,800 people had now been hospitalised, and 75,000 people had sought warmth and food in over 3,000 shelters.

In Poland, the cold claimed eight new victims, bringing the toll to 53.

Almost 70,000 people remained cut off in snowed-in villages, with police and military units providing basic necessities, said Predrag Maric, the police official in charge of Serbia's emergency services.

In Finland, overnight temperatures plummeted to minus 40 degrees Celsius (minus 32 degrees Fahrenheit), but did not deter many Helsinki voters from turning out to vote in a presidential election