Blizzard Strands Scores of Bulgarians in Hungary

Firefighters and policemen stand at the scene of a mass accident on the M7 highway near Nagykanizsa, 208 kms southwest of Budapest, Hungary. Photo by EPA/BGNES

A blizzard has stranded scores of Bulgarians in Hungary as the country's main roads have been buried under snow drifts for the second day now.

According to a report of bTV, the stranded Bulgarians have informed they are running low on fuel and food and local authorities are helpless before the storm.

Hungary has declared the highest code red weather alert.

"People cannot do anything. It is frightening. There is no water, no restroom, no moving, no traffic at all. Winds appear to have a speed of over 150 km/h. There is no way for a helicopter to land or for an armored vehicle to break through the drifts," one of the Bulgarians told the TV channel on the phone.

Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry has immediately transferred the alert to the crisis center dealing with such situations. It advises Bulgarians to seek help from the diplomatic missions and inform local authorities.

The Ministry has also issued a travel advisory for Central Europe.

Both international highways from Budapest to Austria are closed. Police are turning the vehicles back to the Hungarian capital. Long lines of them have formed alongside the road, with many trucks stuck in snow drifts. A chain crash involving up to 60 vehicles is reported on one of these roads – M-7 – Budapest – Balaton – Austria.

The forecast for the weekend is not promising with the mercury expected to drop even further. Other roads might be closed as well.

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