A storm with hurricane-strength winds swept across northern Europe on Saturday, leaving at least three dead in Denmark and two killed in Sweden, police said. Key bridges and airports were closed, while all rail and ferry traffic was suspended. One motorist was killed when a tree crashed onto his car in Odense, 170 kilometers (105 miles) west of the capital, Copenhagen, police said. Details about four other reported deaths were not immediately available, but authorities warned the death toll could climb as the storm was predicted to move over the coastline through the night. Meteorologists described the storm as one of the worst to hit Scandinavia in years. The winds were clocked in some areas at more than 121 kph (75 mph). Ferry traffic between Sweden, Denmark and Germany was heavily disrupted, with dozens of delays and cancellations, while floods inundated parts of Britain and left one ferry stranded. In the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, winds damaged houses and forced train and ferry links and highway bridges to shut down. Two 20-year-old men whose kayak capsized on a lake near the town of Landwedel were missing, police said. Airports in Copenhagen and Malmoe, Sweden's third largest city, were closed Saturday night with many inbound flights rerouted to Stockholm. Many roads in southern Sweden were flooded, and citizens were urged to stay indoors. Bridges between the island of Funen, where Odense sits, and Zealand, where Copenhagen is located, were closed. Also closed was the bridge linking Copenhagen and Malmoe, Sweden's third largest city. --More 2324 Local Time 2024 GMT
