Cold weather leaves over 50 dead in Taiwan and Japan

A bout of cold weather sweeping East Asia has left over 50 people dead in Taiwan over the weekend international media report.

According to reports the deaths occurred due to hypothermia and cardiac disease following a sudden drop in temperature over the weekend.

The cold snap, which also hit Hong Kong, southern China and Japan, also left some 60,000 tourists stranded in South Korea as the heavy snow-fall led to the closure of the airport on holiday island of Jeju. The island, known for its balmy weather and beaches, saw -6C weather, but the airport is due to reopen on Monday night, the BBC adds.

According to Taiwanese media, many of those who died in Taiwan were elderly people living in northern regions such as Taipei and Taoyuan, where temperatures dropped to an unusual 4C on Sunday. Authorities have warned people, especially senior citizens, to keep warm and stay out of the cold.

In Hong Kong, the temperature dropped to 3C, the lowest temperature there in nearly 60 years, while parts of Guangzhou and Shenzhen in southern China also saw snow falling, while the southern Japanese island of Okinawa has seen sleet for the first time ever, the BBC reports.

Meanwhile Japenese media point out that snow storms have hit large parts of Japan with more than 600 domestic flights cancelled across the country on Sunday and Monday, and some five fatalities reported from the snow so far and more than 100 injured in Japan.