Nine killed in Europe storms
Wild weather turns violent, spinning traffic and airspace into utter chaos.
BERLIN: Nine people including two firefighters were killed as violent gales battered northern Europe, snapping air and train links.
Germany halted all long-distance rail traffic for at least a day, while numerous domestic flights were scrapped as hurricane-force winds lashed the country.
The storm claimed six lives in Germany, including two firefighters deployed in emergency operations and two truck drivers whose vehicles were blown over by the gales.
Another driver died when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed in to a truck.
A 59-year-old camper was killed instantly when a tree fell on him in North Rhine-Westphalia state, German police said, as wind speeds reached a high of 203kph at the Brocken – the highest peak of northern Germany.
The storm, named Friederike, also ripped the roof off a school in the eastern state of Thueringia while children were still in the building. Authorities said no one was hurt there.
In the Bavarian alps, the strong gales forced the cancellation of a ski world championship qualifier at Oberstdorf.
It is the worst storm to strike Germany since 2007, according to the German weather service.
Passengers stuck at rail stations were given a voucher for a hotel room, German rail service Deutsche Bahn spokesman Achim Strauss said.
“We must have protect our passengers and our staff,” he added, without saying when the rail service would return to normal.
In the Netherlands, which had borne the brunt of the severe winter storms earlier on Thursday, two people were crushed by falling trees as bitter winds barrelled off the North Sea to hit the low-lying country with full force.
The traffic chaos also plagued the roads, with the Dutch national traffic office reporting 66 trucks had been toppled over by the high winds causing huge traffic jams on the motorways, the highest recorded number since 1990.
The Dutch NS national train service said meanwhile that only a few trains would be put into service late on Thursday, and warned of further disruption as many overhead lines had been brought down by the high winds.
The hashtag #StormPoolen (or storm carpool) began trending with people searching rides between cities, and some drivers offering spare seats in their cars.
“My lovely boyfriend is trying to get from Leiden Central to Delft. He’s very nice and there’s a bottle of wine in it for whoever can return him unharmed. #StormPoolen,” wrote one Twitter user Molly Quell.
Puk van de Lagemaat promised “mad Dj-ing and Karaoke skills to accompany you in the traficjam (sic)” if anyone could give her a ride from Amsterdam central station to The Hague.
Thalys, the high-speed train operator, suspended services to the Netherlands and Germany.