Over 130 dead in Ukraine's cold snap

KIEV - At least 133 people have died this month due to freezing temperatures although the recent cold spell has ended, local media reported Saturday.

Most of the victims were homeless people who lost their lives on the streets at night when the temperatures dropped below minus 5 degrees Celsius.

The authorities have set up over 3,000 heated tents for those in need, but not all homeless people took shelter in them, said the report, noting that many preferred to stay on the streets because of alcohol or unreasonable fears.

The Ukrainian cabinet is mulling an idea to dispatch special social patrol teams to send the homeless to the tents. The units will include law enforcement and emergency officers as well as doctors and social workers.