Hundreds of accidents as Germany hit by fresh bout of winter weather

Heavy snowfall and freezing rain disrupted traffic across large parts of Germany on Monday, with hundreds of accidents reported across the country as drivers struggled on icy roads.

Several people were injured in road accidents overnight, while lorries got stuck in the snow and blocked motorways. Police reported 97 road accidents in the eastern state of Thuringia within eight hours.

Regional and long-distance rail traffic was disrupted nationwide, rail operator Deutsche Bahn said.

Long-distance services between Berlin and Stralsund, and Berlin and Rostock were temporarily suspended, while delays and cancellations also hampered operations in south-western Germany and between Hamburg and Hanover.

In Berlin, tram services had to be cancelled due to icy overhead power lines, and public transport services were restricted elsewhere in the capital.

The snow front reached south-western Germany on Sunday evening, where some areas saw up to 25 centimetres of fresh snow.

Later on Monday, warnings of black ice were lifted for the north-eastern regions of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Brandenburg, as were severe weather warnings for parts of northern Bavaria due to snowfall.

Near Weinsberg in the south-western state of Baden-Württemberg, 15 to 20 cars and lorries got stuck in the snow on a road connecting two motorways during the night, according to police.

Near Nuremberg, a man skidded in his car on an icy road and ended up in the front garden of a church, crashing into the steps of the building. Rescue workers took the 34-year-old driver to hospital with minor injuries.

The weather is not set to improve for the time being. The weather service expects further snowfall in many parts of Germany during the course of the day, which will then gradually ease, and further frosty weather.