Heavy fresh snow temporarily shut main roads and railways in the north of Germany Saturday, prompting rail company Deutsche Bahn to deploy every available snowplough to clear drifts, dpa reported. Around the country, at least three people were killed in road accidents attributable to snow and ice. On the highest mountain in the Black Forest of south-west Germany, the Feldberg, an avalanche buried two skiers. However, they were pulled from the snow alive. Forecasters said more heavy snow was likely Tuesday. "We haven't had such widespread snow, and it staying in place for so long without a thaw, since 1978/79," said Dorothea Paetzold, a meteorologist with the German Weather Service DWD. The state of Mecklenburg West Pomerania, on the Baltic coast, has been snowed under since mid-December. It was again one of the worst affected regions when up to 40 centimeters of new snow fell, with main highways closed by skidding accidents. Even two snow-clearance vehicles became trapped. All public bus services in the port city of Rostock ceased while city workers struggled to reopen the streets, and the city football club, Hansa Rostock, called off its second division game Saturday. "The ground is unplayable: we've had 30 centimeters of new snow and the blizzard hasn't finished," said spokesman Karsten Lehmann. In the northern city of Hamburg, an estimated 25,000 people made the best of the cold, going for a stroll on a frozen-over lake in the centre of town. In the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, police counted 300 road accidents attributable to ice and snow. Many highways were closed for hours on end while tow trucks hauled away the wrecks.
