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20 January 2006
RUSSIAN COLD SNAP
By Paula Murray
A RUSSIAN man braved his country's deadly big freeze to make a mobile phone call - and ended up losing four fingers to frostbite.
Mikhail Pletykhov, 45, went outside for just 20 minutes to chat to his family but it was enough to give him severe frostbite in his right hand.
Doctors in Saransk, central Russia, told him they had no choice but to amputate his fingers.
Deaths and injuries were reported across European Russia yesterday as temperatures plunged to - 31C.
At least 31 people are thought to have died in the cold snap, which dragged on into its fourth day. Many of the victims froze to death while sleeping rough.
Russia is suffering through its coldest winter since 1978-79, when temperatures fell to - 38C. And forecasters believe it could get as cold as - 42 before the current snap is over.
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