German tornado causes widespread damage

A car sits upside down after a tornado hit the the small town of Buetzow, northeastern Germany. Image by NonstopNews/dpa via AP

A tornado has caused widespread damage in a small town in north-eastern Germany, ripping off most of a church roof and covering streets in debris. Storms hit much of Germany last night after an unusually hot day.

In Hamburg, police said today that a 26-year-old man was fatally injured when he was hit by a roof swept off by gusts of wind. His pregnant partner was seriously injured.

The most spectacular damage was caused further east by a rare tornado in the town of Buetzow. Three-quarters of a church’s roof was swept away, trees were knocked over and cars destroyed, the dpa news agency reported.

Streets were strewn with cracked bricks, which mayor Christian Grueschow said “shot down like projectiles”.

(Press Association)