Half of the 400 accidents were registered Friday. Nearly 30 people were injured and one teenager died in traffic accidents this weekend.
A police spokesman noted that a large number of accidents was mostly due to snowy conditions. Over the weekend, rescuers also had quite a lot of work. The State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) received 300 different types of calls during the weekend, a third of which involved rescue work.
VUGD Deputy Chief Executive Mārtiņš Baltmanis said: “There have certainly been a number of road accidents where we have gone to help pull cars out of the ditches. There have also been trees falling [..], a tractor had fallen into the pond and we had to pull it out.” Many fires were also registered over the weekend.
On the other hand, as regards the snowy weekend in the capital, where on Friday the Latvian Environmental Geology and Metrology Centre had issued a red alert for the first time in history, Rīga City Council Vice Mayor Vilnis Ķirsis (New Unity) said that around 70 units of machinery were working in the city and they were coping with the snow.
“In Rīga, all the units have been working around the clock. Right now, the situation is normal. [..] There are, of course, problems, but they are more or less at the center. They are connected to pedestrian zones, with bicycle tracks. We continue to work with them,” said Ķirsis.
