Brutal cold could snap Serbia's power grid

BELGRADE, Serbia -- Serbia was struggling to keep its power system going, officials warned yesterday, after weeks of record low temperatures that have snarled traffic, frozen rivers and challenged officials to step up outreach to the vulnerable homeless.

The Serb state power company said its system cannot hold on for much longer, and a national television appeal to conserve electricity was issued.

Europe's big freeze has claimed hundreds of lives, mostly of homeless people, while tens of thousands of residents remain trapped in remote villages in Bosnia and Serbia.

In many European capitals, extra shelters have been set up for the homeless to help them survive as temperatures sink as low as minus 33 Fahrenheit.

In Berlin, rescue vans loaded with food and clean sheets were picking up those in need and taking them to shelters.

"I witnessed a man lying on the street and people were passing by, not caring about him," said Wolfgang Gerhard, a pastor who works for the Berlin city mission and drives one of its two rescue vehicles.

The cold and snow have halted shipping on rivers, and forced schools to close in many countries. In Serbia, the power company warned it could meet the present level of demand for only a week longer, and announced that heavy industry would be switched off first.

Bulgaria said it was suspending electricity exports to neighboring countries because of higher domestic consumption. Bulgaria, which helps supply Greece, Turkey, Serbia and Macedonia, exports more than 10 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year.

Massive ice floes have halted shipping on parts of the mighty Danube, Europe's main commercial waterway, which winds 1,777 miles from Germany to the Black Sea.