One dead and many injured after ‘tornado’ knocks over crane in Swiss town

One person has died after crane was toppled over by a ‘likely tornado’ in a north-western town in Switzerland.

Some 15 others were injured in the accident at La Chaux-de-Fonds, in the Neuchatel region bordering France yesterday.

Wind speeds reached up to 135 mph, bringing all forms off public transport to a standstill, France24 reports.

Neuchatel police said: ‘The storm unfortunately caused the death of one person in their 50s following the toppling of a construction crane.

‘About 15 injured people were taken care of by the emergency services.’

Footage shows the extent of damage the storm caused, with roofs torn off of buildings and trees uprooted.

Vehicles have also been destroyed.

Household furniture has been pictured strewn across the countryside, and police have urged people to avoid the risk of being hit by falling tiles or trees.

The topples crane killed one man in his 50s(Picture: EPA)

Vehicles have been pictured completely destroyed (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)

Roofs were blown off buildings in the storm (Picture: AFP)

The Swiss national weather service said: ‘A likely tornado associated with a rapidly developing storm along the Jura hit  La Chaux-de-Fonds in the late morning.’

‘A gust of 217 kilometres (135 miles) per hour was recorded by our station at La Chaux-de-Fonds aerodrome this Monday morning, under a storm cell which suddenly strengthened when arriving in the region,’ MeteoSwiss said on Twitter.

Further storms are likely, and locals have been told to stay inside.

On the French side of the border, around 30 houses were damaged.

Further storms are likely, and locals have been told to stay inside (Picture: Wallyson Rommele via Reuters)

Wind speeds reached up to 135 mph (Picture: Wallyson Rommele via Reuters)

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Around 15 others were left injured in the accident.