ATHENS – Massive failures in dealing with a Jan. 24 snowstorm that left hundreds of motorists stranded overnight in freezing conditions has brought fines of 1 million euros ($1.12 million) each for two major highway operators.

The Ministry of Transport put the penalties on Attiki Odos and Attikes Diadromes after a special investigative committe held the companies to blame for the drivers being trapped on a ring road around the capital that cold night.

Mostly responsible, it said, was Attikes Diadromes, the company that manages the highway, and Attiki Odos the concession company, for failing to “exercise proper control over” the former in order to ensure that it complied with the relevant rules and procedures, said Kathimerini.

The ministry said because the text of the findings was not made public so the panel had to rely on traffic cameras and the recorded conversations of the Traffic Management Center with the Attica Road Traffic Department.