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Emergency workers remove snow from around a car trapped in snow, after blizzards near the western Ukrainian city of Brody, 460km west of Kiev. REUTERS/Marian Striltsiv |
Eighteen people have died of cold in Ukraine so far this
month - most of them last weekend - as temperatures dropped
below minus 10degC, the government says.
The Health Ministry said 12 people were found dead on the
streets, three in their homes and three died while receiving
medical treatment. Last Friday the death toll stood at six.
Night temperatures are expected to drop to -28degC in
northern, central and eastern Ukraine this week, weather
forecasters said on Monday.
The cold snap followed heavy snowfall which left some areas
covered with as much as 53cm of snow.
Over a hundred people have been admitted to hospital with
cold-related ailments and the Emergencies Ministry said it
was setting up tents where people could get hot drinks and
receive first aid.
Last February, as Ukraine went through its coldest winter in
six years, over 130 people died of cold in the country of 45
million.
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