"There is no chance of finding anyone alive, save a miracle," Marek Brodzki, a surgeon working with the rescue team, told AFP, after the disaster which killed at least 66 people and injured more than 140.

He said the snow which had gathered on the collapsed roof had made the space in which the initial survivors were trapped into a "freezer", with the sheet metal acting as a perfect conductor.

Death from cold, or hypothermia, occurs when overall body temperature falls below 28 degrees Celsius.

The body's inner core must remain at 37.5 degrees C in order to maintain body functions.

When body temperature falls below 35 degrees C, mild hypothermia sets in and the body sets up defence mechanisms such as shivering, designed to create heat.

Below 33 degrees C, serious hypothermia is likely to cause the subject to lose consciousness, and at 28 degrees C fibrillation of the myocard will lead to death.

In the open air, heat loss depends on a variety of factors including clothing and the wind chill factor.

Resistance to heat loss also varies from one individual to another, partly for reasons of fitness and partly for genetic reasons.

Cold can also cause death from frostbite and respiratory failure.

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