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Published 09 Dec, 2010 02:26am

Heavy snow shuts Paris airport, slams Scotland

PARIS, Dec 8: Heavy snow shut down Paris’ main airport and created travel chaos in Scotland on Wednesday, while in Spain a young boy’s body was found after a flash flood.

Flights in and out of Charles de Gaulle were suspended Wednesday afternoon, the Paris airport authority said, urging travellers to check in with their carriers. At Orly, the city’s smaller airport, flights were delayed by up to two hours.

Snow quickly turned into a slushy mess in Paris’ streets, stalling traffic. All buses in the capital have stopped running, as have many suburban buses, the city’s RATP transit authority said.

The Eiffel Tower was shut to tourists around midday, the monument’s press service said. Officials said they can’t sprinkle salt on the tower’s floors because of concerns it could damage the iron monument.

In Scotland, the First Minister said every power was being used to keep the country moving in “exceptional conditions.” Road and rail journeys were once again plunged into chaos by the severe cold weather, and a 20-mile stretch of Scotland’s busiest road, between Edinburgh and Glasgow, was shut.

Meanwhile, in Spain the Interior Ministry said rescuers have found the body of a 9-year-old boy who drowned in a flash flood, as torrential rains lashed parts of central and southern Spain.

The ministry said the child was traveling Tuesday with his brother and father when their vehicle was overwhelmed by water from the Alcudia River near the south-central city of Ciudad Real. It said divers found the body on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Spain, around 100 homes in Cordoba were evacuated out of fear the Guadalquivir River will burst its banks.

Another 150 families had to leave their homes in Lora del Rio in neighboring Seville province.—AP

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