Switzerland hit by heavy summer storms

Storms north of the Alps, gusts of 140 km/h in Neuchâtel Keystone-SDA

Violent thunderstorms hit Switzerland from west to east on Sunday One person was seriously injured and there were several traffic disruptions due to falling trees.

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The injured man was hit by a fallen branch in canton Bern and was taken to hospital by a helicopter of the Swiss air rescue service Rega.

Falling trees and branches caused traffic disruptions in Biel and throughout the Seeland, a police spokeswoman said.

Wind gusts reached 140 km/h in Neuchâtel and 127 km/h in Grenchen, the meteorological service Meteonews reported on the X social network.

The violence of the storm prompted the organisers of an open-air festival in Neuchâtel to evacuate the event site and cancel concerts. The material damage to the festival infrastructure is considerable.

A severe storm warning was issued for practically the entire northern side of the Alps.

Translated from Italian by DeepL/mga

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