France tornado injures 41 in village of Pomas

A tornado injured 41 people and damaged hundreds of homes in the village of Pomas in southwestern France on Monday, local authorities said.

Officials said the tornado hit hardest in Pomas, a village of about 1,000 people, where an estimated 300 homes were damaged and some roofs were torn off. Fifteen injured people were taken to hospital. More than 120 emergency workers were deployed.

French authorities had placed parts of the southwest on orange storm alert. In the Aude department, officials cancelled the third stage of the Vuelta a Espana cycling race after a hailstorm forced riders to seek shelter.

Meteo-France said winds reached up to 117 kilometres per hour in nearby Arquettes-en-Val.

Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said storms across southern France delayed trains, closed roads and caused delays and cancellations at airports including Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Toulouse and Paris. Officials said an estimated 2,800 homes across 10 villages lost electricity.