Death toll from Europe cold snap nears 300

 The Arctic cold snap that has hit Europe for over a week had claimed nearly 300 lives by today, brought air travel chaos to London and dumped snow as far south as Rome and even North Africa.

The grim winter toll rose in Ukraine, Poland, Italy and France, where two homeless people found frozen to death were the latest victims, with authorities across the continent reporting at least 297 fatalities.

London's Heathrow Airport, the world's busiest air hub by passenger traffic, cancelled a third of the day's flights, while much of Britain was blanketed in snow, leaving drivers stranded on roads overnight.

In Italy, which reported a seventh victim, snow-covered Rome was virtually paralysed, thousands of people were trapped on trains, and the weather emergency sparked runs on supermarkets.

"I couldn't get hold of any food at the supermarket, people are stocking up like they did with bread in 1943," Rome resident Salvatore Merlo said on Twitter. "Rome has the infrastructure of a third world country."

In worst-hit Ukraine, another nine deaths raised the toll to 131 -- most of them homeless people who perished on the streets -- since the deep freeze started nine days ago, said the emergencies ministry.

Some 1,800 people had now been hospitalised, and 75,000 people had sought warmth and food in over 3,000 shelters.

In Poland, the cold claimed eight new victims, bringing the toll to 53.
In Serbia, which has recorded nine deaths, states of emergency have been declared in 32 municipalities, mostly in the south and southwest.

Almost 70,000 people remained cut off in snowed-in villages, with police and military units providing basic necessities, said Predrag Maric, the police official in charge of Serbia's emergency services.

In Romania, six new deaths have brought the toll to 34.
In Finland, overnight temperatures plummeted to minus 40 degrees Celsius (minus 32 degrees Fahrenheit), but did not deter many Helsinki voters from turning out to vote in a presidential election.