Crowds of passengers find themselves stranded at Hongqiao International Airport yesterday when the heavy snow forced massive delays of flights. - Shanghai Daily

Shanghai Daily news

Three days of heavy snow have killed one person, caused massive disruptions to airlines, intercity trains and bus shuttles and collapsed several buildings.

A person was killed when a house collapsed in Jiangqiao Town, Jiading District yesterday afternoon, the Shanghai First Aid Center said without providing more information.

Roofs covering 2,000 square meters over two-storage halls in the Caoyang Fruit Wholesale Market fell in at noon yesterday but no one was injured.

The market, at the corner of Caoyang Road and Tongchuan Road in Putuo District, provides half of the city's fruit.

The danger had been spotted in advance and market workers evacuated the shop owners and customers so no one was hurt although a good deal of damage was caused to the supplies of fruit inside.

There were 17 building collapses downtown and 16 in the suburbs up to press time last night.

Most of the flights to and from Pudong International Airport were delayed yesterday, according to the official Website of the Shanghai Airport Authority. Dozens of domestic flights at Hongqiao International Airport to and from Changsha, Zhengzhou, Taiyuan and Guangzhou were also delayed or canceled.

Airport workers, airline support crew as well as officers from the immigration police were flat out trying to clear snow from the runways and aircraft to get the airport moving again.

"All of our administration staff who usually work in offices have come out to help clearing the snow today. It's urgent,'' panted Tian Lu, an administration officer with Shanghai Airport Authority.

Lingering snow and sleet also disrupted road and highway traffic.

Police attended more than 50 traffic accidents yesterday, with nearly 100 people injured although there were no fatalities.

Traffic police said the number of officers on patrol on the city's elevated roads was increased to 10 times the normal from Sunday evening and speeds on the elevated network were generally limited to 30 km/h yesterday.

The Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway, or A11, the city's major access to neighboring Jiangsu Province, was closed most of the time causing cancellations to bus travel between Shanghai and Jiangsu.

Traffic police said more than 20 minor car accidents happened during rush hour yesterday morning on the city's elevated roads. The number was lower than normal - police believe the snow kept some drivers off the road.

The urban transport authority said more buses were added to schedules at midnight and in the early hours around the airports and railway stations to help travelers arriving late.

More than 10,000 travelers have been affected and 24,000 coach tickets have been refunded since the weekend, the authority said.

The railway authority yesterday announced it had stopped selling train tickets of the first three days of this week for long-distance trips heading to the north and south regions of the country.

The railway authority said yesterday that except for the bullet trains running on the Shanghai-Nanjing and Shanghai-Hangzhou short-distance lines, other services were delayed by snow, rain and low temperatures.

Rail services have been under extra pressure as many travelers were turning to trains after they missed air or bus connections.

The Wusong Port immigration police said nearly 100 vessels had canceled or delayed plans to leave over the weekend.

The maritime authority said passenger shipping at the mouth of the Yangtze River had completely stopped since Sunday as the snow cut visibility down to 1,000 meters or less in places. Authorities have ordered all large vessels to stay out of the port.