Search continues for firefighter missing during floods in southern Germany

Rescue forces continue to search for a firefighter who went missing during an operation to save residents from severe flooding that rocked parts of southern Germany over the weekend.

“The search will continue,” a police spokesperson said Monday morning.

Heavy rain and flooding in two states caused disruptions through the weekend and more rain was expected, the weather service said.

Thousands of people have been evacuated in recent days and more were on the verge of leaving their homes as southern Germany was hit by heavy rain causing rivers to flood.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit the affected region on Monday.

Since Friday evening, tens of thousands of emergency services have been mobilized, especially in the regions of Upper Bavaria and Swabia, to build sandbag dams, pump water, demarcate dangerous areas and rescue people from flooded houses.

A firefighter was killed on Sunday after his inflatable boat capsized in the Bavarian town of Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, located about 40 kilometers north of Munich.

The firefighter still missing was on an inflatable boat near the Bavarian town of Offingen, about a hundred kilometers northwest of Munich, when the boat capsized early Sunday morning. Four other rescuers on board were able to get to safety.

A woman was also missing on Monday morning in the Bavarian town of Schrobenhausen.

Several villages along the Danube and Schmutter were evacuated on Sunday evening as an official raised concerns about a dam.

On Monday morning, the German Weather Service (DWD) lifted all existing severe weather warnings, but said showers that could lead to heavy rain were still expected in some areas, particularly in southern Germany.