Six People Froze to Death in Moscow on Orthodox Christmas

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, January 09, 2003

Six People Froze to Death in Moscow on Orthodox Christmas

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Six people froze to death in Moscow on Orthodox Christmas(Tuesday), when nighttime temperatures fell to minus 31.4 degrees Celsius in parts of Moscow -- the coldest yet this winter, officials said Wednesday. A total of 27 people have frozen to death since New Year's Eve, when the first wave of cold weather swept from the northwest into central Russia. Interfax reported that 239 people have died of hypothermia since the beginning of October.

The Health Ministry said Wednesday that it does not have statistics of how many people have died across the country.

Almost 23,000 people were without heat Wednesday after breakdowns in 282 residential and 42 administrative buildings in 20 towns nationwide, the Emergency Situations Ministry said. Emergency officials have dispatched 903 repair workers and 168 vehicles to help out.

Most of the trouble is in the Karelia, Leningrad and Novgorod regions in northwestern Russia, where the cold front entered European Russia, the Emergency Situations Ministry said. Russian television showed icicles on heating pipes and people bundled up in thick coats in frosty apartments.

Temperature fluctuations in and around Moscow during the holidays were caused by a clash of two atmospheric fronts, weather officials said. Temperatures began warming up Wednesday and were expected to go up to minus 8 by the end of the week.

Source: Agencies

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