Bizarre images: dead and missing after landslide in North Rhine-Westphalia | Abroad

It is not known how many people have died. It is also not known how many people are missing. Due to the storm, the houses in Erfstadt-Blessem are under water and several have collapsed.

Rescue often impossible

According to local authorities, emergency calls are made from homes, but help is often not possible. The emergency service is on site. According to German media, there are not enough rescuers and their work is hampered by an irreparable gas leak.

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Priority flooding for the army

For the German military, relief efforts in flood-affected areas are now a top priority, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said on Friday. It has temporarily suspended all military activities not directly related to foreign missions.

The soldiers support the rescue work with around five hundred men in North Rhine-Westphalia and at least two hundred in Rhineland-Palatinate. They rescue people, evacuate buildings, and distribute fuel and sandbags, while police work to provide protection and prevent looting.