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ACCIDENT

Swedish motorists battle more icy roads

Emergency services were kept busy on Sunday as slippery roads in western Sweden led to 60 traffic accidents over a seven-hour period, with meteorologists warning motorists of similar conditions on Monday.

Swedish motorists battle more icy roads

With temperatures rising over the weekend enough to melt the snow on the roads, motorists were hit with extremely slippery conditions.

“We’ve had nine accidents where people were injured, together with 25 other accidents and 25 more involving wild animals,” said Göran Carlbom of the Västra Götaland police to the TT news agency.

All 59 accidents occurred between 3pm and 10pm on Sunday, yet no one was seriously injured.

In one of the accidents, a six-year-old girl received head injuries and a 50-year-old man was hurt in the leg when they were both hit by a wayward vehicle.

“We have cold road surfaces that freeze after the night’s rain and snow and cause frosted ice. It’s important that motorists keep a distance from one another,” explained Paula Hannevik at the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) to the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.

Workers at the administration are prepared for the worst up until Wednesday, as sleet is predicted to hit hard in Götaland and Svealand.

“Even if many people are craving a bit more warmth, it’s not good to have temperatures above zero. It can get truly slippery,” said meteorologist Martin Hedberg at klart.se to the Aftonbladet newspaper.

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