Ship beached as storms lash Europe

High winds beached a cargo ship on France’s Atlantic coast yesterday and some of the 220 tonnes of fuel on board leaked out, threatening a local beach.

The 19-member crew of the TK Bremen was evacuated by helicopter yesterday morning as the vessel ran aground off Erdeven beach in southern Brittany, on the north-west coast of France.

The French electric company said some 320,000 homes were without electricity as winds of up to 90mph blew across France, triggering alerts in numerous regions. Most power cuts were in the country’s west, but some areas in the east and south-east were hit as the storm moved across France.

Heavy rains in low-lying areas and hurricane-force winds lashed neighbouring Switzerland, where flights, train connections and boat services on some lakes were disrupted.s

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