Motorists were stranded for several hours in a traffic jam along the snowbound Baikal Highway in southern Siberia, regional authorities said Monday.
The backup followed three days of severe weather, with temperatures near minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit), heavy snowfall and strong winds, according to the federal road agency Rosavtodor.
Traffic worsened after several truckers violated road rules, causing accidents that further blocked the highway, a spokesperson from Rosavtodor told local media.
At its peak, the jam stretched roughly 100 kilometers (62 miles) along Lake Baikal’s southwestern shore, local media reported, noting that some families with children were running low on food, water and fuel.
Irkutsk region Governor Igor Kobzev said emergency crews had deployed a mobile warming and food station, along with six fixed warming points and three fuel stations along the route.
Less than an hour before Rosavtodor warned of continuing hazardous road conditions, Kobzev said the jam had been cleared by about 4 p.m. local time.
The Baikal Highway, a section of the Trans-Siberian route, links the Irkutsk region to the republic of Buryatia and the Zabaikalsky region.
Temperatures below 30 degrees C are forecast to continue through Tuesday, officials from Rosavtodor said.
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