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Clean-up begins after lethal storm hits Mediterranean island Corsica
Updated 22:05, 19-Aug-2022
Ross Cullen in France
Europe;France

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02:01

The French island of Corsica remains under a yellow warning alert for high winds and heavy rain on Friday, following deadly storms on Thursday.

Five people were killed and another 20 injured on the Mediterranean island, as massive clouds closed in, bringing a storm of rare intensity.

Corsica's towns and holiday villages were battered by rain, and wind speeds in excess of 200 kilometers an hour were recorded. More than 45,000 households were left without electricity as the storm made landfall.

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Corsica is very popular with holidaymakers at this time of year, and the storm raged through campsites and caravan parks.

A 13-year-old girl was killed when a tree fell onto her bungalow at a campground near Sagone, on the island's rugged western coast.

Campers pack what is left of their destroyed tents and other items at the Sagone camping site in Sagone, where a tree fell on a bungalow during storms. /Pascal Pochard-Casabianca/AFP

Campers pack what is left of their destroyed tents and other items at the Sagone camping site in Sagone, where a tree fell on a bungalow during storms. /Pascal Pochard-Casabianca/AFP

"I was in the car, I saw the dust, I saw the tree falling on us, I said 'That's it, we're dead'," holidaymaker Fred told French media.

"It was the fright of my life, we were all scared. Mathieu's mum shouted out to him and he said 'I'm here!' It was just like a movie."

At a nearby beach in Coggia, a 72-year-old woman died after the roof of a hut was blown off and landed on the vehicle she was in.

Three other people also lost their lives in the storm, including a kayaker caught in the waves that were whipped up by the hurricane-force winds, and a French man and an Italian woman who died at another campsite.

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French President Emmanuel Macron chaired a ministerial crisis meeting late on Thursday, after Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin visited the island to see the devastation first-hand.

"I want to say to Corsica, to the families, and in particular to the families of those who died or were seriously injured, that the state expresses support and compassion," said Darmanin.

"The state, along with local officials, have been working to assess this terrible meteorological incident."

Video Editor: Zofia Melanczuk

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