Freak storm kills three in Moscow

The storm came after days of hot, sunny weather

Three people have been killed in Moscow as a sudden thunderstorm swept through the Russian capital.

Russian television showed dramatic images of the scenes across the city both during and after the storm, which struck at about 3pm local time.

These trees could not withstand another gust of wind and they descended on my car in a very quiet, smooth and soft way

Moscow resident

The weather changed in "a matter of seconds", Russia television reported, with heavy rain, lightning and winds gusting to 90kph.

"These trees could not withstand another gust of wind and they descended on my car in a very quiet, smooth and soft way," one woman told RTV as she stood by her crushed car.

Flights into and out of Moscow were delayed as visibility fell to below 10 metres, bringing traffic nearly to a standstill.

Visibility was reduced to 10 metres as strong winds bent trees to breaking point

The storm lasted about an hour, and as the skies cleared Muscovites were left to pick up the pieces.

"A vehicle was passing, and something like a roof - I don't know precisely what it was - fell on it," one eyewitness said. "The vehicle drove away."

Others were not so lucky.

Emergencies official Alexander Yeliseyev told NTV International that three people were killed and more than 100 trees uprooted. Russia TV said that more than 50 people were injured.

After the rain

With roads flooded and electricity lines down, many commuters faced a long journey home.

Flooded roads were a nightmare for motorists heading home after work

Public transport was badly hit, with power outages stopping trains, trams and trolleybuses, and two metro stations flooded.

NTV International took the chance to look back to 20 June, 1998, when 10 people were killed when another storm hit Moscow.

On that occasion, a month's rain fell in a few hours causing damage estimated at millions of pounds.

The cost of this latest summer storm is as yet unknown.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.