The snowy weather has Skåne in an iron grip.
According to the police, up to 300 cars are stuck on the most accident-prone stretch between Ekerödsrasten and Hörby on the E22. There is still a complete standstill in the southbound direction and many have been stuck since this morning.
Even police cars have been standing still in the queues for several hours.
Police: Stay in the car
The Swedish Transport Administration has set a forecast for 05.00 on Thursday morning. Until then, road users may be forced to remain in their cars.
“The police urge everyone to stay in their cars and wait for help. Expect the effort to take a number of hours,” they write on their website.
Police, emergency services, Hörby municipality and the Swedish Defense Forces have started an evacuation operation with plow trucks and rescuers on site. Tracked wagons are also on the way. But the police write that the newly plowed roads are very slippery and difficult to work on.
At the same time, the police are making a special appeal to truck drivers throughout Scania not to go out on the roads during the evening and night. The same call was made to motorists earlier on Wednesday afternoon.
Man in his 50s dead
During Wednesday, the police and emergency services had to deal with an unusually high number of traffic accidents as a result of the bad weather.
– We have received around 75 traffic accidents so far and that is twice as many compared to yesterday, said Evelina Olsson, Police Region South’s press spokesperson, to TV4 Nyheterna at 4 pm.
In one of the accidents, just north of Hässleholm, a man in his 50s lost his life. Another person is being treated for serious injuries as a result of the same accident.
– We received reports that it is extremely slippery at the site, so it is very likely that it is due to the slippage, said Karl-Magnus Larsson at the time.