Munich, Jun. 4, (dpa/GNA) – The number of known fatalities as a result of the flooding in Germany’s south has risen to five, according to the police.

A woman died after her car slipped off a road on Monday amid flooding in the small Bavarian town of Markt Rettenbach, police said. The 57-year-old’s body was later recovered from the scene.

According to initial investigations, she was on a flooded road near Markt Rettenbach after driving past a warning barrier. In the closed-off section, the car slid sideways off the road into a meadow, where the water level was very high.

The woman made an emergency call on her mobile phone but by the time emergency crews arrived the car was “almost completely submerged,” the police said.

Authorities had previously reported four deaths as a result of the flooding, in Bavaria and the neighbouring state of Baden-Württemberg. One of the dead was a firefighter on his way to help people trapped by the flooding.

The search for another firefighter who went missing overnight continued on Tuesday.

Police said however that the water current was so strong in the area near the town of Offingen where his boat capsized that the search could only take place from the air and where there was dry land.

The flooding situation in Bavaria is still considered critical, while the situation has significantly improved in Baden-Württemberg. 

GNA