Germany: One person killed, 40 injured by tornado

Extreme weather conditions hit western Germany yesterday, killing at least one person and injuring about 40 others, ten of them seriously, when a tornado struck several cities, police and local media reported.

Pictures on social media show what appears to be a cyclone with the characteristic rotations, with various debris flying in the air, although the German Meteorological Service did not immediately confirm that it was indeed a tornado.

The 38-year-old man in the western city of Wittgert succumbed to head injuries from a fall after being electrocuted in a flooded cellar, local media reported, citing police.

Police say up to 40 people were injured in Paderborn, a town of about 150,000 between Frankfurt and Hamburg. Rail and road transport were affected throughout the region.

In nearby Hellinghausen, images posted on social media show a bell tower falling from a church tower, with debris scattered around the churchyard.

Police have posted pictures showing trees dropped or cut in two, as well as roofs swept by the winds in Paderborn.

“About 40 people were injured in the storm, at least 10 of them seriously,” municipal police said in a statement. “Metal sheets and other materials were carried by the winds miles away. Countless roofs fell off or were damaged. Many trees remain on damaged cars.”

They asked the residents to stay in their homes. The German meteorological service warned that extreme weather events are expected to continue.

Meteorologists said the extreme weather was caused by warm gas masses being transported from Africa in combination with the relatively colder air moving from northern Europe to the south.