Dozens of deaths blamed on rare cold snap in Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan, Jan 25: An unusually cold weather front that caused sudden drops in temperatures has been blamed for killing as many as 57 people in Taiwan's greater Taipei area.

The Taipei government said the cold wave that pushed temperatures to a 16-year record low of 4 degrees Celsius (39.2 degrees Fahrenheit) in the capital was suspected in the deaths of 40 people in the capital from Friday through Sunday. A city official says the sudden drop in temperatures caused heart troubles and shortness of breath for the mostly elderly people who died in Taipei.

Neighboring New Taipei City, where temperatures were slightly lower, reported that another 17 people had died because of the cold weather.

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