Storm prompts railway to suspend service in northern Germany

Rail services in parts of northern Germany were suspended on Monday as a storm with high winds swept across the area.

Long-distance lines from Berlin to Hamburg and Hannover and from Wolfsburg to Goettingen were closed in the Monday morning, railway operator Deutsche Bahn said on Twitter.

Routes from Hamburg to Hannover and Bremen, and from Hanover to Bremen and Goettingen, also shut down before reopening later in the day.

Strong winds were expected in northern and eastern Germany through Monday afternoon.

Near Dortmund in western Germany, the fire service used a boat and makeshift walkways to rescue sheep from a field flooded by heavy rain.

News agency dpa reported that the field was submerged under as much as 2 meters (6.5 feet) of water, and that some animals died in the flooding. Around 200 were rescued.