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Snow and ice snarl road and air traffic

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Snow and ice snarl road and air traffic
Photo: DPA

Wintry weather snarled roads across much of Germany and led to flight cancellations in Frankfurt early on Wednesday.

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Some 50 flights were called off at the country’s biggest air hub due to the adverse conditions, according to Frankfurt Airport officials.

Snow and ice caused countless road accidents overnight, as truck drivers in particular found it difficult to remain in control of their vehicles.

Many autobahn on and off-ramps were “completely slippery” according to motorway police spokesman.

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One 18-year-old driver near Augsburg, Bavaria, died after hitting a patch of ice and smashing the car backwards into a tree.

Traffic on the A2 motorway near Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia backed up 20 kilometres and there were traffic jams near Essen and Duisburg.

In the southwestern state of Rhineland-Palatinate, road crews couldn't keep up with heavy snowfall which trapped some 40 truck drivers in Hunsrück near Monzelfeld in the early morning hours. The Black Forest region in Baden-Württemberg was also blanketed with snow.

A truck near the Bayerisches Vogtland intersection on the A9 motorway in Bavaria slid into the median and there was a traffic jam on A72 after a similar accident.

Roads in Lower Saxony were equally treacherous, as snow and hail caused countless crashes.

The police urged morning commuters to be cautious no matter where in the country they were driving.

DPA/The Local/mry

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