A tornado injured nearly 40 people,
“including ten seriously”
, and caused
“tremendous damage”
as it crossed the center of Paderborn, a city in western Germany, on Friday, local police said.
"Thirty-eight injured, some seriously, were taken to hospital
," said the city's firefighters on their twitter account.
A person
“is in mortal danger”
, for his part specified the local police.
This rare and localized phenomenon hit this average city in North Rhine-Westphalia at the end of the afternoon, when bad weather affected the whole country after several days of abnormally high temperatures for the season.
Read alsoIn Germany, 180 dead in the floods, according to a new report
In neighboring Rhineland-Palatinate, a 38-year-old man died after suffering an electric shock when entering a flooded cellar following bad weather, and falling on his head, the Koblenz police announced at the same time.
In Paderborn, the police estimated at
"several million"
euros the
"devastation"
caused by the storm which mobilized more than 350 intervention forces.
The column of the tornado progressing towards the dwellings, carrying away trees and sections of building, was visible on several photos posted on social networks.
The town of Lippstadt, about thirty kilometers away, was also probably hit by a tornado, according to a spokesperson for the fire department, without any injuries being to be deplored at this stage.
The steeple of the church in this city was swept away by the violence of the gusts of wind, according to photos published on social networks.
The spokesperson reported
“roofs torn off, windows shattered and numerous trees uprooted throughout the city”
.
More generally, the bad weather caused a lot of damage in this region of western Germany, with the police reporting countless uprooted trees.
Snapshots posted online also showed overturned cars.