At least ten people were injured after severe lightning bolts wreaked havoc at a handball competition in Germany.
Eight adults and a 13-year-old child were among those hurt as 120 teams gathered in Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg on Friday evening.
One person was severely hurt in the storm, while others sustained minor injuries.
The freak weather event struck as people tried to secure tents which were in danger of blowing away at the sports ground, which was being used as a campsite.
A 71-year-old woman was also injured in a lightning strike at a sports ground in Münsingen-Dottingen.
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The lady was preparing food in a marquee when the storm suddenly hit. She was taken to hospital for treatment after suffering an electric shock.
The extreme weather saw large parts of the town left without power on Friday for up to 90 minutes.
Cem Özdemir, minister-president of Baden-Württemberg said thousands of people had been ‘severely impacted’ by the storm, with hospitals and businesses disrupted.
He wrote on X: ‘Our solidarity goes out to all those affected. All competent authorities are working at full throttle to restore supplies as quickly as possible and to keep the consequences for the population, healthcare system, and economy as minimal as possible.’
However, despite the outage, the power substation remained undamaged, according to Euronews.
Further storms were due to hit the area on Saturday, with the state likely to exceed its temperature record for June, the German Weather Service (DWD) said.
Other regions are also expected to experience intense heat, including Bavaria, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland as well as parts of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Berlin and Brandenburg.
Images showed heavy rain across the German capital, with cars shown stuck in the Gleim Tunnel between the neighborhoods of Wedding and Prenzlauer Berg.
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