STA, February 28, 2018 – The cold spell that has gripped Slovenia since Sunday has claimed a human life. With temperatures well below the freezing point, an older man was found dead on Tuesday after seemingly falling just outside his door. Another man is fighting for his life at the Maribor UKC hospital.
The man who died of hypothermia was found around noon on Tuesday. It seems that he went outside to get firewood, slipped and was unable to get back up, RTV Slovenija web portal said.
The man, who lived near Maribor, must have lain outside in the cold for several hours, ER doctor Gregor Prosen told the STA.
The man fighting for his life also fell just outside his house near the town of Ormož. He was returning home drunk last night and was found only this morning, the police have said. Temperatures dipped to between -20 and -15 in Slovenia this morning.
The 79-year-old was severely hypothermic, his body temperature having dropped to 21C, according to UKC Maribor doctor Jože Ferk.
Since early February, UKC Maribor has treated two other patients with hypothermia. The first one was admitted on 9 February with a body temperature of 21C, while another one was admitted ten days later with a body temperature of 34C. They are both still recovering in the hospital.
Ferk explained that hypothermic patients, who receive help quickly, recover rather fast. However, if hypothermia causes a heart arrest that affected the brain, the consequences can be quite severe.
Ferk advised that old people and children should not go outside alone in very cold weather to avoid falls that may lead to fatal outcomes.
