German tourist killed by lightning on Rhodes

A 58-year-old German tourist died after being struck by lightning on the Greek island of Rhodes as storms hit the Aegean Sea for a second day.

Greece's state agency ANA said the lightning strike happened on a beach near the resort of Lardos, where the woman was walking with her husband. ANA said her husband was also hurt.

The Greek civil protection ministry said Rhodes and the wider Dodecanese island group would be hit by storms on Saturday.

On Thursday, an elderly shepherd was found dead on Crete amid flooding caused by heavy rainfall that damaged roads and bridges and carried away cars. More rain was expected in Crete through Sunday.

State TV ERT said the equivalent of two years of rain in Athens was likely to fall in Crete by Sunday. Winds of up to 88 kilometres per hour have kept many ferries in port since Thursday, disrupting connections with many Aegean islands.