People in central Spain are struggling as a deep freeze follows the weekend's heavy snow, leading to treacherous conditions. At least seven people have died due to the weather - the two latest victims were homeless people in Barcelona.
The temperature plunged to -25C in Molina de Aragón and Teruel, in mountains east of Madrid - Spain's coldest night for at least 20 years. Deep snow left by Storm Filomena has turned to ice, disrupting transport. 'We're going to have this cold for a few more days, but we all pull together,' local woman Yoli Asensio told the BBC. 'Day-to-day life is difficult. There's so much snow about, the access to homes and roads is blocked.'
The overnight temperature in Madrid itself fell to -16C, and on Monday the capital's hospitals - already under great pressure because of Covid-19 - struggled to cope with patients who had slipped on the ice, breaking bones. Medical sources told El Mundo that there were 1,200 fracture cases on Monday in the Madrid region's hospitals, an average of 50 an hour. The charity Save the Children reports that a power cut has left nearly 2,000 vulnerable children and their families without electricity in sub-zero temperatures at La Cañada Real Galiana, in the Madrid region.
Transport has been severely disrupted. Many commuter train services have been cancelled or delayed, and flights at Madrid-Barajas airport have been gradually resuming after a weekend suspension, with a big backlog. The Madrid-Barcelona high-speed rail link was suspended due to a power cut but has now resumed. Spain's El País daily says the danger posed by icy road conditions has prompted 'a titanic effort' to clear snow, with 1,300 snow-clearing vehicles operating.
Among the rescue stories, a 64-year-old diabetic man needing insulin was located by helicopter in a remote area of Toledo, found struggling on crutches in the snow. In Hervás, rescuers helped a 39-year-old woman who had slipped on ice and injured her ankle. In Murcia, a three-year-old Alaskan Malamute dog, missing since 20 December, was found alive by climbers and reunited with its owner.
