Trucks and cars drive slowly on the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Freeway in Shaoguan county, South China’s Guangdong province, Dec 16, 2010. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

A severe cold snap swept through South China and froze over sections of the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Freeway in Guangdong province starting Dec 15, bringing traffic to a standstill and stranding over 8,000 people, chinanews.com reported Friday.

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Ice started to crust over sections of the freeway in Shaoguan county of the province on Wednesday afternoon, as temperatures dropped to 3 degrees below zero. Traffic police launched an ice emergency response plan and traffic control on Thursday morning, when temperatures reached 5 below.

Traffic troubles became worse later in the morning, as the ice on the road accumulated to over 5 centimeters. More vehicles became stranded in the jam. Police issued a more intense ice emergency response plan and closed some entrances to the freeway.

As of Thursday night, more than 4,000 vehicles were delayed in the Shaoguan section, with more than 8,000 passengers affected by the gridlock.