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Dozens injured and one dead from snow and ice

DDP/The Local
DDP/The Local - [email protected]
Dozens injured and one dead from snow and ice
Photo: DPA

Spring snow showers and windy thunderstorms swept across much of Germany on Thursday, leaving one person dead and dozens injured in numerous traffic accidents. More snow is likey this week.

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Snow, sleet and hail created dangerous road conditions in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where a 39-year-old driver died and three others were injured in a head-on collision, police reported.

Meanwhile, the economy minister for the state of Thuringia, Jürgen Reinholz, suffered minor injuries in an auto accident after strong winds and snow blew his vehicle off the road near Nordhausen, his spokesperson said.

In the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, police reported more than a dozen serious injuries after more than 50 accidents.

Residents of Bavaria’s mountainous Allgäu region will even get to enjoy some late spring skiing after some resorts received up to 40 centimetres of new snow, the German Weather Service (DWD) said. But the heavy snow also stranded large trucks on icy roads and caused several minor accidents in the region.

The state of Saxony also struggled to keep up with accidents in the Erzgebirge mountains, police said.

Low pressure system Herbert – and the two lows expected to follow – won’t give spring a chance to warm the weather-weary country until Saturday at the earliest, the DWD reported.

More snow, sleet, and rain are on the way for the entire country, and nights could get cold enough for frost.

Click here for The Local's weather forecast.

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