A fire fighter responding to the floods in Germany has drowned when the inflatable boat he was travelling in capsized in Pfaffenhofen, near Munich.
Germany continues to battle widespread flooding across its south from heavy rainfall that has disrupted rail transportation and pushed emergency services to their limits.
The rescue worker was in the boat with three colleagues when the incident happened on Sunday morning.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that he’s “saddened” by the casualty and expressed his thanks and respect for Germany’s emergency service personnel.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck — also Germany’s vice chancellor — spoke of the “terrible” incident and will visit the flooded areas on Sunday.
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The latest extreme weather comes almost three years after intense rainfall in July 2021 caused devastating floods in parts of Germany and neighboring countries. Over 240 people were killed across the region and more than 170 in Germany alone, with cleanup and reconstruction costing tens of billions of euros.
Almost half of Germany is currently under flood warnings, including parts of the eastern states of Thuringia, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg. Heavy rains have continued since Friday.
Several regions of Bavaria have passed flood levels that statistically are only seen once in a century, the central portal of the nation’s flood control center said early Sunday. For the Danube River — a key shipping route — and several of its tributaries, high- or very-high water alerts remain in place.
In Bavaria’s Schrobenhausen, north of Munich, a woman is suspected of being trapped in her cellar, and rescue teams are deploying divers and a drone, according to the Donaukurier newspaper.
In Schwäbisch-Gmünd in Baden-Württemberg — near the Stuttgart headquarters of carmaker Mercedes-Benz — two carriages of the high-speed ICE train derailed after being hit by a landslide. The 185 passengers were evacuated without injuries, and the driver of a car that was swiped by the 30-meter (33 yards) mudslide also survived, according to the regional broadcaster SWR.
Train operator Deutsche Bahn AG - which suspended some cross-border transport to Austria and Switzerland on Saturday - said in a statement it was advised against traveling in the affected flood areas. Connections to Germany’s capital Berlin and its financial hub Frankfurt were also cancelled.
Germany’s meteorological service Deutscher Wetterdienst has forecast more heavy thunderstorms in the south and in some eastern parts of the country from Sunday afternoon. Rains are expected to continue throughout Monday, especially in the mountain areas. - Bloomberg