A cold snap sweeping large parts of Europe has also exacted a heavy toll in Algeria, where 25 people have died in accidents linked to heavy snowstorms, the fire and rescue services announced Tuesday. Twenty-eight of Algeria's 48 departments have had snow over the past week, including the capital Algiers. The snow has cut off access to many parts of the mountainous Kabylie region in the north, where a number of villages have been without power and water since the weekend. The rescue service said 10 people had died in traffic accidents linked to the bad weather and 15 had died of carbon monoxide poisoning caused by faulty gas heaters. Unused to snow, the authorities have struggled to cope. Colonel Mohamed Khelaf, director of the rescue effort, told Chaine III national radio that 40,000 troops had been deployed to clear roads, help the sick and bring supplies, including gas bottles, to remote areas. Further heavy snowfall was expected in the east and the centre of the country Tuesday and Wednesday.
- RSOE EDIS
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