The country was blanketed by heavy snow and pummeled by severe weather yesterday during the third consecutive day of harsh weather.

The whiteout left several people dead and caused hundreds of injuries. It also froze traffic in many cities and grounded hundreds of flights.

Tens of thousands of people and vehicles were stuck along 21 expressways in seven provinces. Power supplies were lost in some parts of the country, the China Highway Information Service said on its website yesterday.