Multiple accidents on Sweden’s slippery roads

On Saturday afternoon, two people were admitted to hospital after a multiple car accident near Askersund in central Sweden.

Police closed national route 50 in both directions during the rescue- and clearance operation, which lead to traffic jams.

According to local duty officer, Lotta Lindblad, two cars were involved in a head-on collision during an overtaking. Another car which attempted to dodge the accident hit a fourth one. Nobody was wounded in the third and fourth cars.

The two wounded people were brought to the University Hospital of Örebro.

A band of heavy snow and rain moved north across Sweden on Saturday. In the North a couple of decimetres of snow were expected.

Further south, SMHI warned, freezing rain could turn roads very slippery.

“There could be a lot of trouble on the roads today,” said Sandra Andersson, SMHI meteorologist.

In the northern mountains there were harsh winds combined with extremely cold weather. Temperatures were expected to dip to minus 30 degree Celsisus in some parts.

Rescue services in Jönköping in southern Sweden also warned of extremely slippery conditions after several vehicles drove off roads on Saturday morning, including one in which four passengers were brought to hospital by ambulance.

On the west coast much of the snow had melted away on Saturday after the rainy weather there, but slush on the roads was causing trouble, with one truck skidding off the E 6 highway and blocking one of the lanes.

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