Five die as heavy snowfall hits the Balkans

At least five people have been killed in the Balkans after freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall caused travel chaos across the region.

Four people have died in Croatia and one in Serbia as a result of blizzards in the region of south-western Europe over the weekend, according to officials.

Airports and roads have been closed during the bad weather, with public transport in a lot of the major cities also being affected.

People travelling in vehicles waited for four hours on the main Serbian highway leading from Belgrade to the Hungarian border before rescue teams freed them from 20 inches of snow that had fallen in a few hours.

The airport in Zagreb, Croatia, was closed for several hours on Saturday and several of the nation's roads were closed because of high winds and heavy snow.

Blizzards also hit Slovenia and Bosnia.

AP