Severe freeze grips Russia

MOSCOW, Russia -- A ship carrying 200 passengers became locked in ice off Russia's Pacific coast as a severe freeze plunged much of the country into chaos.

Russian news agencies said there was no danger to passengers on the Marina Tsvetayeva, which waited for an icebreaker to free her and three tankers beset in ice-floes.

The sea froze as temperatures plunged to minus 40 Celsius (-40 Fahrenheit) across Siberia and Russia's Far East.

Power and heating failures have also compounded the misery of hundreds of thousands of freezing Siberians, and residents of Vladivostok closed the city's main roads on Tuesday to demand action from local officials.

They were further enraged when regional deputies dropped a motion to bring a vote of no-confidence against the governor of the Primorye region, Yevgeny Nazdratenko, agencies said.

NTV national television said police had intervened to stop fights in the local assembly between supporters and opponents of the motion.

Schools and hospitals were plunged into cold and darkness as energy firms battled with a lack of fuel for power stations and a dearth of cash to repair decrepit infrastructure.

Deaths from hypothermia and frostbite are becoming commonplace in an area already infamous for its vicious winters.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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