by Staff Writers
Warsaw (AFP) Dec 23, 2009

Ten people have died of cold in Poland over the past day, taking the
toll since winter set in earlier this month to 93, police said Wednesday.

A national police spokeswoman told AFP that 25 people had been found
dead since Monday.

The majority of the victims were homeless men who died while drunk,
police said.

Sixty-two of the 93 deaths recorded since December 1 occurred since
Friday, as temperatures plunged to minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus four
Fahrenheit).

By Tuesday, temperatures had risen to around zero degrees Celsius (32
degrees Fahrenheit).

Police and municipal employees have boosted patrols in areas where the
homeless gather, notably public parks and allotments, to try to persuade
them to head to special hostels.

The death toll is far from unusual in Poland, which regularly faces
harsh winter conditions.

In the 2008 to 2009 winter season, for example, police recorded 82
deaths from hypothermia.

Poland's highest winter toll in recent years was in 2005 to 2006, when
233 died.

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites