The situation in Erftstadt near Cologne is becoming more and more dramatic. Houses collapse because of the masses of water, there are already fatalities. Rescue turns out to be difficult.
Erftstadt – When houses collapsed in Erftstadt-Blessem, people died. "There are fatalities," said a spokeswoman for the Cologne district government.
There had been massive and rapidly progressing washings of houses in the village. A number of houses have collapsed in whole or in part.
Tweet from the district government of Cologne
Emergency calls keep coming from the houses. At the moment, however, people could only be rescued from the water by boat. In addition, a gas leak that cannot be shut off makes rescue work more difficult. Several nursing homes would be evacuated. dpa
