(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-29 17:28

Heavy snow since mid-January, the worst in 50 years in China's southern, central and eastern areas, has forced the closure of airports and expressways, in addition to train delays, stranding tens of thousands of passengers.

Local authorities in different provinces have been sending water and food to passengers stuck in railway stations and highways.

Heavy snow has also affected the normal lives of people, led to power cuts, collapsed buildings, damaged crops and killed livestock.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Monday that 24 people have died from the weather since January 10, and more than 77.86 million people had been affected in 14 provinces, including Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hunan.

The latest snow-related accident happened in the southwestern province of Guizhou on Tuesday morning when 25 were killed after their bus veered off an icy mountainous road.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Hunan, one of the hardest-hit provinces, to oversee the relief work on Tuesday.

The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) forecast early on Tuesday that strong snow and rain would continue to hit the central, eastern and southern regions in the next three days.

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