A severe storm unleashed heavy rains and flash floods in south-western Germany overnight, killing three women and injuring more than 10 people, police said today.

A normally quiet stream that runs through the Killertal — which means "killer valley" in German — in the south-western state of Baden-Wuerttemberg became choked with rainwater and morphed into a raging river yesterday evening, police spokesman Lambert Maute said.

The stream burst its banks, flooding streets with more than 18 inches of water in some villages along its path.

Water surging over the banks of a canal linked to the stream submerged a car in the town of Jungingren. Two women in the vehicle drowned, Maute said. The passenger's body had been swept downstream.

A third woman died in the town of Hechingen after rising water trapped her in her basement.

A regional train struck trees that had been blown onto the tracks by strong winds, seriously injuring the train's engineer. He was flown by helicopter to a military hospital in nearby Ulm.

The storm, which began yesterday around 7.30pm, also caused considerable delays at the nearby Stuttgart airport and millions of euros in damage.

"The vehicles are standing all over the place, in the craziest positions," Maute said.

A firefighter received an electric shock during the cleanup Tuesday, but it was not life-threatening.

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