A major motorway ground to a halt as heavy snowfall swept across Poland in the final days of the year
The winter storm hit the country with little mercy, and on the last morning of the year an accident blocked a key north to south arterial route. Traffic stopped almost instantly. Cars and lorries sat motionless for hours as fresh snow piled up around them, turning the motorway into a frozen car park.
Emergency services worked through the day to clear the wreckage and reopen the road. Snowploughs followed, inch by inch restoring movement on a stretch that links large parts of the country. By afternoon the situation eased, and traffic began to flow again, slowly at first, then with growing confidence.
