9 injured as hailstones fall

No fewer than 9 people have been killed and dozens of homes damaged in a hailstorm in southern Germany, BBC reports.

2 people were taken to hospital with severe injuries caused by lightning strikes, and in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, there were reports of hailstones the size of golf balls.

Also 7 more were hurt in Bavaria, where several houses in villages near Augsburg were no longer habitable.

Authorities appealed for help from construction workers to repair the damage.

There were reports of badly damaged roofs, even as blocks of flats had to be evacuated and a local school had to be closed.

Last week, there reports of severe weather in Germany as a tornado swept through the town of Buetzow, near Rostock.