A tornado has struck the village of Pomas in south-western France, injuring 39 people and damaging hundreds of homes.

Authorities said 15 people were taken to hospital, while two were in critical condition. One man said his pregnant wife was injured after their home collapsed.

More than 120 emergency workers were sent to the village, south of Carcassonne, after winds reaching 117km/h (73mph) tore roofs from houses and damaged about 300 homes on Monday.

“Half the village has been destroyed,” said a resident named Pierre, describing the tornado as swirling like a “huge red and yellow chimney”.

He said part of a large castle had also collapsed, despite its stone structures having stood for about 1,000 years.

The extreme weather also disrupted the Vuelta a España cycling race, with the third stage cancelled after a hailstorm forced riders to take shelter about 15km from the finish line.

About 2,800 homes across 10 villages were left without electricity, officials said.

Local sub-prefect Emmanuelle Plantier-Lemarchand said she was not aware of anyone missing. She also confirmed that the number of reported victims had been revised from 41 to 39, with 15 people receiving hospital treatment.

Resident Chantal described hearing a huge noise before seeing objects flying through the air and her roof collapsing.

“I’ve got no house left, that’s for sure,” she told French radio. “I was really scared. I thought that’s it, this is my final hour.”

Cyclists competing in the Vuelta a España were forced to seek shelter in a hotel after being caught in the hailstorm.

French authorities had issued an orange alert for thunderstorms across large parts of the south-west, where the severe weather had already caused power outages and transport disruption.

Eyewitness footage showed the tornado forming above houses and trees, while images from Pomas showed uprooted trees, damaged cars and rubble from destroyed buildings.

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There were also flight delays and cancellations at airports in Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Toulouse and other parts of France, Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said.

France experiences several dozen tornadoes each year, according to the national weather service Météo-France.

The storm comes after a summer of extreme heatwaves and wildfires across Europe, with south-western France among the worst-affected areas. About 42,000 hectares were burned in one of the country’s largest forest fires since the Second World War.

(BBC News)