The China Mail - Freezing rain hampers transport in Central Europe

Snow and freezing temperatures buffeted Europe last week, with gale-force winds and storms claiming some 15 lives, causing travel mayhem, shutting schools, and cutting power to hundreds of thousands.

A thick layer of ice on the Vienna airport runways led to a temporary shutdown, with flights gradually resuming around midday on Tuesday.

Austria's state railway company OeBB also asked travellers to postpone non-urgent journeys, with numerous train connections facing interruptions and cancellations.

In neighbouring Slovakia, the Bratislava airport was also closed temporarily early Tuesday due to bad weather.

Slovak police on Facebook urged people to avoid travel because of "extreme" ice and snow in the west of the country.

In the Czech Republic, ice was also hampering road and rail traffic.

Prague airport came to a virtual standstill, with firefighters having to de-ice the runways.

Around 50 people were treated for injuries because of the icy conditions, according to Prague's emergency services, cited by the CTK agency.

In neighbouring Hungary, where severe winter conditions have affected a large part of the country since last week, Budapest airport was shut down because of "black ice and extreme icing", the airport said.

Earlier Tuesday, an Ethiopian Airlines cargo aircraft went off the runway while taxiing coming to a standstill in the grass, the airport said in a statement, adding the incident was under investigation.

Trains and flights were also experiencing delays, while authorities reported drift ice on the Danube and the Tisza rivers, where icebreakers have been put on alert.

Lake Balaton in the west of the country is currently frozen -- a relatively rare phenomenon seen about once every ten to fifteen years.

However, authorities warned that the ice is still too thin for skating, urging the public to be cautious.

H.Au--ThChM