Snow misery in south-east Europe

Five people froze to death in Turkey since Thursday

At least five people have died and 15 are missing, amid chaos caused by heavy snow and high winds in parts of Europe.

Power and water supplies have been cut, schools closed and transport disrupted in Romania, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, among other countries.

A Greek-owned cargo ship sank in the Aegean Sea in gale force winds. Only two of the 17 crew have been rescued.

Turkey, where five people have frozen to death in the past two days, and Egypt closed key shipping lanes.

Turkey was worst hit by the storms, which dumped 50 centimetres of snow on Istanbul.

Authorities declared a state of alert, mobilising some 9,000 police and municipality staff.

Schools, universities and the stock exchange were closed, and emergency services had to rush to rescue drivers stranded in their cars.

The conditions are equivalent to a disaster. Istanbul is going through a hardship unseen in 50 years Istanbul governor Muammer Guler

Parts of the city were still without water and electricity as the night descended in freezing temperatures.

The Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits, which are the only maritime outlet for the oil industry in Russia and other Black Sea countries, have been closed since Thursday.

"The conditions are equivalent to a disaster," said governor Muammer Guler.

"Istanbul is going through a hardship unseen in 50 years."

Egypt also closed its Suez Canal, which links the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.

Distress signal

The Greek-owned cargo ship Kephi was on its way to the Suez Canal from Istanbul, when it sent a distress signal late Thursday reporting a water leak.

Ships rushing to its rescue found only two crew members in a lifeboat.

In Bulgaria, a state of emergency was declared after heavy snow and gale force winds left some 100 villages without electricity and water.

There were power cuts and traffic chaos in Romania, where many ports along the Black Sea had to be closed.

Schools were also closed in southern Italy - and the capital, Rome, saw its first snow in four years.

Weather experts say there will be more snow and rain across much of the Mediterranean until Sunday.