Rescue forces continue to search for a firefighter who went missing during an operation to rescue residents from severe flooding that ravaged parts of southern Germany this weekend.
“The search continues,” a police spokesperson said Monday morning.
Heavy rains and flooding in two states caused disruptions throughout the weekend and more rain was expected, the weather service said.
Thousands of people have been evacuated in recent days and even more were about to leave their homes as southern Germany was lashed by heavy rains, causing rivers to swell.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit the affected region on Monday.
Tens of thousands of emergency services have been in constant action since Friday evening, especially in the regions of Upper Bavaria and Swabia, building sandbag dams, pumping water, closing off danger zones and rescuing people from flooded houses.
One firefighter was killed on Sunday after his rubber boat capsized in the Bavarian town of Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, about 40 kilometers north of Munich.
The still missing firefighter was on a rubber boat near the Bavarian municipality of Offingen, about 100 kilometers northwest of Munich, when the boat capsized early Sunday morning. Four other rescuers on board were able to get to safety.
Another woman also went missing in the Bavarian town of Schrobenhausen on Monday morning.
Several villages along the Danube and Schmutter rivers were evacuated on Sunday evening when an official pointed out concerns about a dam.
Early on Monday, the German Meteorological Service (DWD) withdrew all existing severe weather warnings, but said showers with a risk of heavy rain were still expected in some areas, especially in southern Germany.
