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Heavy snow disrupts UK, 3 boys die in frozen lake

December 12, 2022

Freezing cold temperatures along with ice and snow caused travel disruptions with road closures and delayed flights, while three children died after falling through ice covering a lake in the West Midlands.

https://p.dw.com/p/4Kq2N
A red postbox covered in snow with a double decker bus pictured in London
Heavy snowfall overnight caused widespread travel disruption in the United KingdomImage: Rasid Necati Aslim/AA/picture alliance

The United Kingdom has been in the grip of a cold spell that has caused temperatures to plummet around the country.

The country's weather service, the Met Office, recorded temperatures as low as -15.7 degrees Celsius (3.7 degrees Fahrenheit) in northern Scotland, while it continued to issue weather warnings elsewhere in the country.

Trafalgar Square is seen after heavy snow in London
Commuters in London battled to make their way into work with delays and closures of travel routesImage: Tayfun Salci/Zuma/IMAGO

Snowfall causes travel chaos

Heavy snowfall overnight disrupted travel on roads and railways, while flights were delayed at airports. Earlier on Monday, there were multiple closures on the M25, the UK's busiest highway, which circles the capital.

The morning saw commuters in London battling to make their way to work, with disruptions and closures to parts of London train services.

Train tracks in Camden covered in snow as London
Train operators in the UK issued alerts for commuters not to travel while police warned of treacherous road conditionsImage: Vuk Valcic/ZUMA Press Wire/picture alliance

Some motorists were stuck in their cars for hours as snow caused treacherous driving conditions on motorways.

Gatwick and Stansted airports issued warnings of flight delays on Monday, while London City Airport said it was experiencing disruptions as a result of flight cancelations on Sunday night.

Mounted soldiers ride along The Mall in London
The Met Office says cold temperatures will persist through the weekImage: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Photo/picture alliance

Three children die after falling into frozen lake

In the West Midlands, three children died after they fell into an ice-covered lake in Solihull on Sunday.

According to local police, officers jumped into the icy water and broke the ice with their hands in an attempt to rescue the boys, aged 8, 10 and 11. A fourth child remains hospitalized and in critical condition.

"Frozen lakes, ponds, canals and reservoirs can look picturesque, but they can be lethal, and there are no greater warnings of this than yesterday's tragic events,'' West Midlands Fire Service area commander Richard Stanton warned.

Police pictured at the scene where four children were pulled from an icy lake in Solihull
Four children were pulled from the icy lake in Solihull in the West Midlands, but reported that three had diedImage: Matthew Cooper/empics/picture alliance

Meteorologists predict cold northerly winds for the remainder of the week and cold temperatures are expected to persist over the coming days.

kb/msh (AP, Reuters, AFP)