A 24-hour snowstorm has wreaked havoc in Bulgaria Wednesday, delaying road, rail and air traffic nationwide, DPA quoted local media as saying. Many roads were closed, including the key route across the Shipka passage in the Balkan mountains, the civic protection service announced. Trains were running with major delays, many flights to and from the Sofia airport were cancelled, while the airport at Bulgaria's second-largest city Plovdiv was forced to shut down. Downtown Plovdiv and at last 60 municipalities in the southern region were also without electricity. The weather situation is similar elsewhere in the Balkans - in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Romania. Forecasters expect the snow, which started New Year's night, to continue falling heavily for another few days.
