Paraglider Brings Food to Snowbound Romanian Village

With its roads cut off by heavy snowfall for days, a village in central Romania received welcome deliveries of food and medical supplies on Wednesday -- from a paraglider.

Marian Ciobanu, a 40-year-old man from Bucharest, decided to fly above the village of Valea Salciei in order to airdrop the supplies, according to an Agence France Presse photographer.

All roads leading to Valea Salciei have been cut off by heavy snowfall and ice since Romania became caught up in Europe's big freeze three weeks ago.

On Wednesday, 225 towns and villages were still cut off by meters of snow, the interior ministry said. Some are getting food and medical aid only by helicopter.

Local and national authorities have been criticized for their slow reaction to the situation, especially in clearing snow on rural roads.

A total of 86 people have died in the cold snap in the last three weeks, according to the health ministry.