Kyrghyz capital without gas at 20 below zero

Residents of the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek have no gas to heat their homes amid arctic temperatures, authorities said Sunday.

Some districts also lack electric power at a time when the mercury has dipped to minus 20 degrees Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit), they said.

Gas supplies have been cut off from neighbouring Kazakhstan, which relies on deliveries from another central Asian neighbour, Uzbekistan, itself unable to extract the fuel because of the freezing weather.

Lacking gas, Bishkek residents have begun using more electricity, which has led to outages in parts of the city, authorities said.

Weather forecasters warn that temperatures could drop to -24 Celsius (-11 Fahrenheit) in the region.