HEAVY snow and a severe cold snap has left dozens dead over the past week across eastern and central Europe.

The cold snap that killed 30 people in Ukraine spread Tuesday with record lows in Bulgaria and heavy snow in Switzerland and parts of Italy.

Police in Poland reported a total of 27 deaths as overnight temperatures Tuesday dipped to minus 30 Celsius.

In Vilnius, the capital of neighboring Lithuania, one homeless man was found dead Tuesday, bringing the death toll there to eight since Saturday.

Since Sunday, three people have died in Serbia and one in neighboring Macedonia.

Meanwhile, two died in Romania, raising the death toll to eight since Jan. 26, the health ministry said.

Temperatures plunged to minus 29 degrees Celsius in central Romania on Monday night, sending gas consumption to a record high and forcing a huge increase in gas imports, an official said.

In Switzerland, some 10 centimeters of snow fell Tuesday morning, hampering flights, and the weather service predicted temperatures would drop to minus 15 Celsius in the ski resorts of Saint-Moritz and Sils-Maria.

(SD-Agencies)