Spate of deaths as Europe gripped by freezing weather

Thirty people, most of them homeless, have died of hypothermia in recent days in Ukraine, while at least 54 people have died from the cold across Europe over the past week.

Forecasters have said the severe cold, which has seen officials in Turkey report Istanbul’s lowest temperature for 30 years, will continue to spread west, with extreme low temperatures expected to drop to minus double figures, with a risk of blizzards.

Of the victims in Ukraine, 21 were found frozen on the streets, five died in hospitals and four died in their own homes.

Temperatures have so far plunged to minus 23C (minus 10 F) in the capital of Kiev and elsewhere in Ukraine, as schools and nurseries closed down and authorities set up hundreds of heated tents with hot tea and sandwiches for the homeless.

In Poland, five people died of hypothermia in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll from the cold to 15 in the last four days.

In Romania there have been eight cold-related deaths. Temperatures plunged to minus 20C overnight in Bucharest. In Russia, one person died of the cold on Monday in Moscow.

Weather Forecast: Page 24.