Spain snow: Unusual blizzard kills four, brings much of country to a standstill
A persistent blizzard blanketed large parts of Spain with an unusual amount of snow on Saturday, killing at least four people and leaving thousands trapped in cars or at train stations and airports that suspended all services.
The national weather agency reported that as of 7am on Sunday (5pm AEDT), the snowfall in Madrid reached a level unseen in half a century. More than 50cm of snow fell in the Spanish capital, according to the weather agency AEMET.
The bodies of a man and woman were recovered by the Andalucía region emergency service after their car was washed away by a flooded river near the town of Fuengirola. The Interior Ministry said a 54-year-old man was also found dead in Madrid under a big pile of snow. A homeless man died of hypothermia in the northern city of Zaragoza, the local police department reported.