Sweden's death toll from storm rises to three

HELSINKI: The death toll in Sweden rose to three after a storm battered Scandinavia, with thousands still without power on Sunday. The storm, dubbed Johannes in Sweden, swept over large parts of the northern half of the country and western parts of Finland. A man in his 60s who had been working in the forest was hit by a falling tree on Saturday in Hofors in Sweden, police said on Sunday. He later died of his injuries in the hospital.
The fatality adds to the two reported on Saturday: a man in his 50s died at the hospital after also being hit by a falling tree near the Kungsberget ski resort in central Sweden, Mats Lann of Gavleborg police said. Further north, regional utility Hemab said that one of its employees had died in an accident 'in the field'.
Strong gusts toppled trees, disrupted traffic and caused large power outages in Sweden and Finland. In Finland, more than 85,000 homes were still without power around 12 am after a peak of over 180,000. Energy companies warned the reparation work might take several days. Meanwhile, Swedish news agency TT reported that at least 40,000 Swedish homes were still left without electricity on Sunday morning. — AFP