Thousands Trapped As Eastern Europe Freezes

Thousands of people are trapped in snow-blocked villages in Serbia and the freezing weather has caused a 20-car pile-up in Italy.

Severe cold spells have gripped eastern Europe, forcing officials to air-lift emergency food and medical supplies to some areas as the number of dead rose past 120.

At least 11,000 villagers remain trapped in remote areas of Serbia that cannot be reached because of icy roads, with temperatures sinking below -30C in some areas.

Some 34 people were injured in the car crash in a Milan road tunnel. Incredibly, no one was killed.

But there are 20 newly-reported deaths from the cold in Ukraine, another nine people have died in Poland, eight in Romania and one more each in Serbia and the Czech Republic. Most were homeless people.

European weather alert network Meteoalarm warned of "extremely dangerous" conditions and many hundreds of schools have been closed across the region.

And authorities are warning people to prepare for a further drop in temperatures next week.

The weather is affecting gas supplies, with Russia's Gazprom, which supplies a quarter of Europe's gas imports, getting more requests for exports than it can cope with because of increased demand at home.

Parts of the Black Sea froze near the Romanian coastline and snow fell on Croatian islands in the Adriatic Sea.

In Bulgaria, 16 towns have recorded their lowest temperatures since records started 100 years ago. In Sofia, cash machines were reported to have frozen.

Helicopters were also being used to rescue people and take supplies to remote villages in northern Bosnia - some of which have not had electricity for days.

"All together between 200 and 300 people are cut off," said Bosnian rescue official Milimir Doder. "We are supplying them for the second day with food and medication."

"The minuses are killing us," said Bosnian villager Goran Milat.

Ukraine has reported more than 60 deaths and hundreds more have been taken to hospital with hypothermia and frostbite.

The country's 1+1 television channel broadcast pictures of a man being treated for frostbite in his toes, which had turned completely black.

Hospitals were told not to discharge homeless patients even if their treatment was finished, to protect them from the cold.

In Romania, hundreds of people were sent to shelters to protect them from the extreme cold.

Even places unaccustomed to snow have been hit, with Marseilles receiving a light dusting.

Further afield, in Japan, 50 people are believed to have lost their lives as snow drifts bury homes