Emergency rescuer dies in south Germany floods

Two ducks swim across a road between Hemmendorf. The River Itz has burst its banks and the Schenkenau gauge has reached level 3. Roads are closed and the flooded area reaches as far as the first houses. Pia Bayer/dpa

A firefighter has died in Germany during a rescue operation to help people caught in the floods that have hit parts of the country's south.

The firefighter was in a rubber dinghy with three other rescuers in the town of Pfaffenhofen in Bavaria late on Saturday night when the vessel capsized.

His body was found in the early morning on Sunday, according to a spokesman for the Pfaffenhofen district office.

The three other firefighters were rescued. They had been on their way to rescue a family in the severely flooded area. There were no details on what happened to the family.

Fire brigades and other emergency helpers have been working constantly since the heavy rains, which have not stopped since Friday.

The Swabian Alps south of Stuttgart, as well as the region around Augsburg, Nuremberg, Bamberg and Regensburg are particularly at risk from the showers and thunderstorms on Sunday.

A disaster alert has been issued in several districts of Bavaria.

Germany's army has stepped in to help as rivers in the region have swelled. Many hundreds of people have been evacuated and a prison was evacuated in Memmingen to the west of Munich, with its 100 prisoners being taken in by institutions nearby.

Floods occurred after the heavy rainfall of the last few days in Bavaria. Stefan Puchner/dpa
A car stands on a flooded road. It is expected that the water levels of the Ilm River will continue to rise. Jason Tschepljakow/dpa