At least 61 people have died in Europe as frigid temperatures and blizzards are wreaking havoc across most of the continent.
According to Serbian authorities on Tuesday, an 88-year-old man and his 64-year-old son were killed by the freezing temperatures in the southern village of Duga Poljana.
As temperatures in Macedonia dropped to -20 degree Celsius three people died over the past few days. The body of a 60-year-old man was found outside his house in Strumica, and an 80-year-old woman died in the country’s eastern regions. A 68-year-old homeless man was also among the casualties.
One homeless man was found dead in Albania’s southeastern city of Korca, bringing the cold snap’s death toll in the country to five.
Another person died in Istanbul after heavy snowfall resulted in the collapse of a mosque during a funeral.
Meanwhile, after heavy criticism from aid associations, officials on the Greek island of Lesbos announced that they would relocate 250 refugees from tents into vacant hotel rooms to save them from the freezing conditions.
“We denounce the inhuman living conditions refugees on Lesbos are facing,” a medical association said. “They are living in mud and snow, cramped together in unsuitable tents ... and lighting fires inside them to stay warm.”
Shipping along Europe’s second-longest waterway was also halted due to the frigid temperatures. Romanian police were forced to stop shipping along the 900-kilometer stretch of the Danube River, which passes through the country.