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The death toll from the vicious cold snap across Europe has risen to more than 260, with the winter misery set to hit thousands of those seeking to escape it on Sunday as air traffic was hit. Ukraine has suffered the heaviest toll with 122 deaths, including many who froze to death in the streets as temperatures plunged to as low as -38.1 C. Airports were shut, flights and trains delayed, and highways gridlocked as emergency services raced to clear falling snow. London's Heathrow Airport, Europe's busiest air passenger hub, canceled 30 percent of its flights on Sunday to cope with heavy snowfall overnight and possible freezing fog. Heathrow said up to 10 cm of snow were expected to fall which, without reductions to the flight schedule, would cause major disruption at the west London airport. The changes could affect around 400 flights at the world's busiest airport for international passengers. In Italy, the poor weather also hit boat passengers, when the ferry Sharden hit a breakwater shortly after setting off from a port near Rome on Saturday. The heaviest snowfall in 27 years in Rome caused the capital, better known for its warm sunshine, to grind to a halt with taxis and buses unable to navigate through the icy streets without snow chains. In Poland, the death toll rose to 45 as temperatures reached -27 C in the north-east. In Romania, four more victims were found, bringing the number of fatalities in the country to 28. | 
