Floods kill at least four in southern Germany

Floods caused by heavy rain in southern Germany have claimed at least four lives.

The victims include three people found in flooded basements on Monday. On Sunday a firefighter died while trying to rescue trapped residents.

Thousands of people in the states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg have fled their homes since torrential rains began on Friday.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who visited affected areas, said the flooding was a reminder of critical environmental challenges.

"We cannot neglect the task of halting man-made climate change," he said on Monday.

In Schorndorf, east of Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, the bodies of a man and a woman were found in a basement late on Monday.