Two die in German storm as transport disrupted

Berlin: Two people were killed in a storm that swept across northern Germany on Thursday, felling trees and disrupting rail and air traffic.

A 50-year-old man was killed when his car was hit by a falling tree in a village south of Lueneburg, and an 83-year-old woman was killed when her car collided with a fallen tree on a highway near the city of Hanover. 

The storm continued to rage through much of Thursday night over Berlin.

Disruption to rail services lasted till Friday, with national rail operator Deutsche Bahn warning of delays between Hanover and Hamburg, Hamm and Bielefeld, and Berlin and Dresden. 

Berlin's Tegel and Schoenefeld airports said on Twitter that air traffic was back to normal after the storm caused problems on Thursday.

The German Meteorological Service reported heavy storms across the country on Thursday, packing torrential rain, hail and winds of up to 120 kilometres (75 miles) per hour.