Severe storm batters western Europe; 1 dead

LONDON — A violent storm packing winds up to 100 mph battered parts of western Europe on Wednesday, derailing trains, toppling trees and halting flights. Authorities said one person was killed and at least 23 others were injured in France and Switzerland.

The high winds played havoc on transport, derailing trains in Switzerland and Germany and leaving hundreds of thousands of homes across France, Switzerland, Britain and Ireland without power.

Officials said one skier was killed in the French Alps after being hit by a falling tree in Morillon in Haute-Savoie.

Eight people suffered mostly minor injuries when a train was blown off the tracks near Lenk, a town south of Bern, the Swiss capital, according to police. In western Germany, a train derailed near Luenen when it crashed into a tree that had fallen onto the tracks. No injuries were reported.

The storm forced the cancellation of flights at Zurich and Basel airports and toppled a truck on a Swiss highway. Thousands of households at Lake Zurich were left without power, and firefighters were called to help with toppled trees blocking streets and flooding due to heavy rain.

Swiss police said several people were stuck inside a cable car halted in the ski resort of Pizol in the Swiss Alps. Klaus Nussbaumer, the head of the company that operates the cable cars, told AP those trapped were later rescued to safety.

High winds prompted ski lifts to stop running at other Swiss resorts as well.