Thunderstorms topple power poles and damage buildings in Switzerland

A severe thunderstorm front with hail caused widespread damage in western and northwestern Switzerland on Friday, disrupting rail services between Biel and Olten, SRF reported. Power poles collapsed in Aargau, and part of a sports hall roof was torn off.

Solothurn was particularly badly affected. More than 200 damage reports had been received by late morning, a spokeswoman for the cantonal police told the Keystone-SDA news agency. There were no reports of injuries, and police were still assessing the situation.

In Aargau, four power poles collapsed near Birrfeld and Birrhard, with one falling onto a house. A truck also tipped onto a delivery van on the A1 motorway towards Zurich. No one was injured. In Aarau, parts of a sports hall roof were torn off.

Hail caused further damage, with social media users posting photographs of hailstones said to be the size of golf balls. AEW Energie AG reported power outages in several municipalities around the Aargau Fricktal region.

Rail services between Biel and Olten were suspended because of storm damage, with the interruption expected to last until about 2 p.m., according to SBB. The R55 railway line near Nyon was also affected.

By late morning, the storm front was moving east towards Zurich and Schaffhausen, according to MeteoSwiss, the federal meteorology office. The Murten to Kerzers region was also designated a severe-weather danger zone.