Three die as floods hit Bulgaria

Three people have been killed and two are missing as storms and floods hit large areas of northern and eastern Bulgaria.

Hundreds of people were evacuated across the worst-hit regions of Veliko Tarnovo, Targovishte, Stara Zagora and Shumen. Dozens of towns and villages in some 11 regions were flooded and suffered severe damage.

Two people were killed by lightning in the central-southern town of Parvomai over the weekend, and an elderly man was found drowned in his home in the village of Suha Reka, near the north-eastern city of Shumen, police reported.

Two women are missing from a remote village in the central-northern region of Targovishte.

The Yantra River burst its banks in the central city of Veliko Tarnovo and flooded several neighbourhoods. Rescue teams struggled overnight to save at least 35 people stranded by the high waters.

Dozens of roads were flooded. Railroads in eastern Bulgaria also suffered damage, causing severe traffic delays.

Similar floods hit northern Bulgaria at the end of May and the beginning of June, killing at least six people, including four children.