Europe, December 23: A BUS crash in icy conditions in Britain killed one person and injured 48 others yesterday, adding to a growing human toll as fierce weather continues to plague the UK and Europe.
The weather, which has caused chaos on roads and disrupted the holiday plans of thousands of people, is believed to have caused at least 90 deaths across Europe.
Rescue workers backed by a Royal Air Force helicopter ferried the injured to hospital after the bus flipped over on a narrow road in southwest England.
Five passengers were seriously hurt, while one was critically injured and the rest were “walking wounded”, police said.
The passengers had been on a trip to see Christmas lights.
Road conditions in the area were “treacherous”, hampering attempts to get to the accident, police and ambulance officers said.
UK authorities are under fire for the failure of the transport network in the face of frozen conditions. Thousands of motorists caught in heavy snow abandoned their cars or slept in their vehicles overnight yesterday.
The Automobile Association said it was the organisation’s busiest night in 25 years, with more than 700 calls received every hour.
Poor road conditions were also likely to delay Christmas presents, with deliveries being cancelled across large parts of Britain.
The Daily Mail said gifts ordered over the internet were not arriving in rural areas, where families had not seen any post for days.
The problems were being exacerbated because postmen in some areas had been told they should not try to negotiate slippery paths for health and safety reasons.
Councils blamed a “perfect winter storm” for disruptions,
While Eurostar resumed limited train services under the English Channel, woes continued for air travellers as EasyJet cancelled about 180 flights and airports closed across Europe.
Irish carrier Ryanair also grounded about 65 flights.
British Airways cancelled a “small number” of short-haul flights.
Germany’s Frankfurt airport, Europe’s third busiest, was closed for about four hours overnight yesterday after the runways iced over.
London Luton airport was also closed overnight.
There were fears of continuing problems as fresh snowfall of up to 10cm was forecast for northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
—-Agencies