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Snow causes traffic havoc in western Sweden

TT/The Local
TT/The Local - [email protected]
Snow causes traffic havoc in western Sweden
Two-car collision on Route 222 near Stavsnäs

Snow falls caused extensive traffic problems on Sunday night and into Monday morning. Several accidents occurred in western Sweden while no fatalities were reported.

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"The road conditions are extremely hazardous, it is just a matter of staying inside as much as possible," Gunilla Gustafsson of Gothenburg police warned.

One person was injured in a crash on the E6 near Bäckebol in northern Gothenburg. A further person was hurt when a truck collided with a car near Liseberg in the centre of the city.

Further accidents were reported on route 44 near Båberg outside of Trollhättan and also on the E6 between Kungälv and Stenungsund, and on the E20 south of Alingsås.

Police operations did not escape the wintry traffic turmoil as a gang of bank robbers were able to shake off pursuing police on the southbound section of the E6 motorway.

The thieves had fled in the direction of the province of Halland after smashing a window and stealing a television from a branch of Nordea on Redbergsplatsen in the centre of the city.

"We got stuck in Lindome," Gustafsson confirmed.

The Swedish Met Office (SMHI) had issued a class 1 weather warning for snow falls in Halland on Sweden's south-west coast, but no serious injuries were reported during the night.

An accident occurred in Halmstad at around 4am on Monday morning as police approached to conduct a routine check on a vehicle.

As the police patrol approached the vehicle, the driver lost control and crashed into a lamp post, at which point the three people in the car fled the scene on foot.

Police were later able to apprehend one of the trio but are as yet unable to ascertain what caused them to run as nothing suspicious has been found in the car.

SMHI has forecast continued wintry weather and treacherous road conditions for the coming week with extreme cold expected in northern and mountainous areas of Sweden.

Snow falls are expected to continue in Stockholm and all the major Swedish cities while temperatures are forecast to remain well below zero for the foreseeable future.

"It will be below freezing in the whole country for as far ahead we can forecast," meteorologist Elin Torstensson told news agency TT.

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