A firefighter dies during rescue efforts due to floods in Germany

MUNICH, June 2 (DPA/EP) –

A firefighter has died in Germany during a rescue operation to help people trapped in floods that have hit southern parts of the country.

The firefighter was on an inflatable boat with three other rescuers in the Bavarian town of Pfaffenhofen on Saturday night when the boat capsized. His body was found early this Sunday morning, according to a spokesperson for the district office.

The other three firefighters were rescued after this event, which occurred when they were on their way to rescue a family in the flooded area. There are no details about what has happened to the family.

Likewise, east of the city of Stuttgart in the state of Baden-Württemberg, two carriages of a long-distance train carrying 185 passengers derailed after the railway tracks were affected by a landslide caused by heavy rains.

No one was injured and passengers were evacuated from the train in the early hours of Sunday, according to a spokesman for the national rail operator. The cars left the tracks but did not overturn.

The landslide occurred in the town of Schwäbisch Gmünd, about 50 kilometers east of Stuttgart. The mudslide was about 30 meters wide and also affected a road parallel to the train tracks, according to the spokesperson.

The Swabian Alps south of Stuttgart, as well as the region around Augsburg, Nuremberg, Bamberg and Regensburg, are particularly exposed to Sunday’s downpours and storms and a disaster alert has been issued in several districts of Bavaria.

The German military has stepped in to help as the region’s rivers have risen. Hundreds of people have been evacuated and a prison in Memmingen, west of Munich, was evacuated and its 100 prisoners were placed in nearby institutions.