Cold snap kills 43 in Ukraine
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E-mail Xinhua, February 1, 2012
At least 43 people have died of extreme cold and some 854 others sought medical help for frostbite and hypothermia in Ukraine over the last five days, the Emergency Situations Ministry said Wednesday.
"Eight people died in hospital, 28 people were found dead in streets, another seven died in their homes," the ministry said in a report.
The country's capital Kiev recorded minus 25 degrees Celsius. In the western Lvov region, the coldest region near Carpathian Mountains, temperatures plunged to minus 30 degrees Celsius, the ministry said.
The authorities have decided to set up 1,735 shelters in the country to help the homeless and more than 31,500 people have sought help and hot food in such shelters in the past five days, the ministry said.
At the same time, volunteers did not leave stray animals to the mercy of fate during the severe cold snap. In several Ukrainian cities, animal lovers created shelters for homeless dogs and cats.
The extreme cold weather has prompted authorities in the Ukrainian capital and some regions to keep schools closed until Monday.
Weather forecasts say the cold snap will continue and officials have appealed to people to stay at home.
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