Thunderstorm leaves Stuttgart opera house damaged

Thunderstorms hit Germany late Monday and torrential rains poured down on the southern and western parts of the country leading to dozens of accidents and hundreds of firefighter operations throughout the night.

In Stuttgart, parts of the roof and several statues of the city's opera house were thrown to the ground by the winds.

Altogether, rescue teams were called in more than 330 times until early Tuesday in Stuttgart and the train service was interrupted for hours.

Felled trees had to be cut and removed by firefighters.

The states of Baden-Wuerttemberg, where Stuttgart is located, as well as Bavaria and Hesse were especially hard hit by the deluge-like rains and reported dozens of accidents by early Tuesday morning.

The number of people injured in the crashes was not immediately known.

IMAGE: AP