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Snow blocks more than 1,000 people on Serbian road

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More than 1,000 people were rescued by the army and emergency services on Saturday after being stranded in snow on a road linking Serbia and Hungary for some 15 hours.

More than 200 vehicles were caught by the weather and trapped for several hours from Friday evening in the region of Feketic, some 120 kilometres (74 miles) north of Belgrade.

The government ordered "all concerned services, army, police and firefighters to deploy all necessary means to rescue" those trapped, a statement said.

The severe weather conditions meant that another 1,000 people throughout Serbia had to be rescued, a government statement said.

The northern Vojvodina province has, since Thursday evening, been hit by winds reaching speeds of more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) per hour.

Drivers try to plough through the snow on a road near the Horgos border station south of Szeged  Hun...
Drivers try to plough through the snow on a road near the Horgos border station south of Szeged, Hungary, on February 1, 2014
Csaba Segesvari, AFP

In Vrsac, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) northeast of Belgrade, winds were gusting at a speed of at 168 kilometres (104 miles) per hour, the state-run RTS television reported, causing snowdrifts.

On Friday, an army helicopter helped rescue services to evacuate some 100 people blocked in their vehicles on a road linking Belgrade and Zrenjanin, some 70 kilometres (43 miles) northeast of the Serbian capital.

The authorities banned trucks from neighbouring countries from entering.

River traffic on the Danube was also banned.

The strong winds were expected to continue over the weekend.

More than 1,000 people were rescued by the army and emergency services on Saturday after being stranded in snow on a road linking Serbia and Hungary for some 15 hours.

More than 200 vehicles were caught by the weather and trapped for several hours from Friday evening in the region of Feketic, some 120 kilometres (74 miles) north of Belgrade.

The government ordered “all concerned services, army, police and firefighters to deploy all necessary means to rescue” those trapped, a statement said.

The severe weather conditions meant that another 1,000 people throughout Serbia had to be rescued, a government statement said.

The northern Vojvodina province has, since Thursday evening, been hit by winds reaching speeds of more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) per hour.

Drivers try to plough through the snow on a road near the Horgos border station south of Szeged  Hun...

Drivers try to plough through the snow on a road near the Horgos border station south of Szeged, Hungary, on February 1, 2014
Csaba Segesvari, AFP

In Vrsac, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) northeast of Belgrade, winds were gusting at a speed of at 168 kilometres (104 miles) per hour, the state-run RTS television reported, causing snowdrifts.

On Friday, an army helicopter helped rescue services to evacuate some 100 people blocked in their vehicles on a road linking Belgrade and Zrenjanin, some 70 kilometres (43 miles) northeast of the Serbian capital.

The authorities banned trucks from neighbouring countries from entering.

River traffic on the Danube was also banned.

The strong winds were expected to continue over the weekend.

AFP
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With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

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