Five die in floods as heavy rain hits south of France
Five people have died in floods in the south of France as heavy rain hit much of the country on Friday night and Saturday morning. A mother and her child died after the family car was swept off a bridge and another child was missing Saturday morning.
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A 50-year-old man was found dead in his car on Saturday morning 150 metres downstream from the bridge he had been crossing in the southern Gard region and another man was found dead after his car fell 20 metres from a mountain road that had been damaged by the rain in the Lozère, slightly further north.
And a 60-year-old man in the Alps died after falling while trying to unblock pipes that had blocked during the storms.
Earlier a car carrying a family of four was swept off a bridge in the foothills of the Cévennes mountains.
The father managed to escape from the vehicle but his wife and one of the children were later found dead inside it.
Rescue workers started a search for the second child.
The storm caused serious damage in many parts of the Rhône valley.
There were grey skies and rain from the Mediterranean to the north-east of France on Saturday.
Heavy rainfall affected Provence, the Languedoc and much of the French Alps, as well as the island of Corsica which was also hit by strong winds.
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