Another 20 people have died in Ukraine and nine in Poland as temperatures fall below -30C (-22F), officials say, accroding to BBC.

Europe`s current cold snap has claimed more than 110 lives so far, including 63 in Ukraine and 29 in Poland.

The Serbian authorities say about 11,000 villagers have been cut off by snow and blizzards in remote areas.

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In Italy, more than 600 passengers were trapped on an unheated train in the Apennines overnight, when the brakes and electrical cables froze.

Heavy snow across central and northern Italy has caused widespread disruption. Weather experts say is its coldest week in the country for 27 years.

The coldest temperatures have been recorded in Russia and Kazakhstan.

In the Urals and Siberia, the temperature fell to -40C (-40F) while in the Kazakh capital, Astana, a forecaster told Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency the wind-chill factor meant the real temperature was down to -52C, even though the air temperature was -35C.

In southern Russia, cars and lorries became stuck in snow drifts between Novorossiisk and Krasnodar.

Heavy snow has also hit Turkey, with 50cm falling in Istanbul on Wednesday. An avalanche in the south-east of the country killed a woman in her home, reports say.

Another avalanche blocked a main road connecting the provinces of Bitlis and Diyarbakir.

Rescuers in Germany were unable to save an elderly woman after she had gone swimming in the frozen waters of a gravel pit in Lower Saxony. Reports said she had often swum in the lake.