A 45-year-old German man has died on the French island of Corsica, a local fire and rescue service reported on Thursday.
The man was swimming in a river on the island’s northwest with his wife and two children when he was swept away when a torrent of water came down from nearby mountains during a storm, the Cismonte fire service said in a Facebook post.
The man’s wife and his two daughters, aged 9 and 13, were saved by rescuers, it said. The man’s body was later found.
Stormy conditions and wind weather alerts on stretches of coastal France
All of Corsica was on an orange weather alert on Thursday, with wind gusts of up to 170 km (106 miles) per hour expected Thursday night into Friday and strong waves around island’s southern coastlines.
Numerous flights on the island were delayed or canceled because of the winds.
“Due to adverse weather conditions affecting several of our airports, there are major disruptions to our flight schedule today,” Air Corsica posted on Facebook.
Ferry services to and from the island were also disrupted.
Storm Benjamin cause travel disruptions across Europe
Elsewhere, there were delays and cancellations at major airportsin places like Germany, Amsterdam, Italy and the UK.
French authorities said they expect to disruptions to continue into Friday, though the storm appeared to have weakened by late Thursday.
French Economy Minister Roland Lescure said that 60,000 people were without power across France late on Thursday afternoon as Storm Benjamin swept across the south of the country.
Edited by: Roshni Majumdar
