Snow disaster in Sweden traps 1,000 cars

The Swedish military gave food and water to around 1,000 cars and trucks stuck in the snow for almost a whole day.

Rescuers are trying to help people who are stuck on the main E22 road in southern Sweden.

Rescue teams helped many people to leave the area and told them to come back to their cars later.

The travel mess happened when the weather got very cold in the Nordic countries.

Very cold weather has arrived in some areas of Sweden, Finland, and Norway. There are also snow storms in Denmark that have stranded drivers on a motorway near Aarhus since Wednesday.

The coldest night in 25 years was recorded at the Kvikkjokk-Arrenjarka weather station in northern Sweden on Tuesday, with temperatures reaching -43. 6C

The problem on the main E22 started at around 09:00 in the morning on Wednesday when snow made the road between Horby and Kristianstad blocked in both directions. Hundreds of cars stopped because of piles of snow.

“It’s complete chaos,” said police spokesperson Evelina Olsson.

Snow ploughs came on Wednesday evening and the police and rescuers worked all night to help people stuck in hundreds of cars. Some people had health problems like diabetes.

Rescue teams started moving cars stuck in the snow on the E22, but many trucks are likely to stay there until Friday.

Erika Sepeliovaite told Aftonbladet website that she, her two kids, and their dog were rescued after 19 hours.

Malin Johansson, who is 56 years old and from Ahus, mentioned that she and her partner turned on their car every now and then to keep it warm. She said to Expressen that they were able to leave at 04:30 on Thursday after rescuers cut the road’s barrier.

Soldiers were sent to bring food and water to the people who were stuck.

Ms Olsson said the problem is that it is snowing a lot and the road gets covered in snow again just half an hour after it has been cleared.

On Thursday morning, most of the cars were moved, but the trucks were still stuck. The police said the situation was getting better, but they also said the road would not be cleaned until at least 08:00 on Friday.

Buses and trains in the Skane area were not running on Thursday morning. Officials said it’s best to only travel if it’s really necessary.