Storm Eunice carves deadly trail across Europe

At least 16 people have been killed as Storm Eunice carved a deadly trail across Europe.

Deaths were reported in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, the Irish Republic and the UK, as fierce winds felled trees and sent debris flying.

Millions of homes and businesses lost power across Europe and transport networks were left in disarray.

The Dutch coastguard said it was trying to locate 26 empty shipping containers lost in the North Sea.

Gusts of more than 120mph (almost 200 km/h) were recorded on Friday.

Four people died in the Netherlands, all hit by falling trees, and another four were killed in Poland.

Three people were killed on roads in England, two more died in Germany and two people have died in Belgium, including a man hit on the head by a solar panel blown off a building in Ghent.

A council worker in his 60s died in County Wexford, the Republic of Ireland, when he was hit by a tree.

About 30 people in northern France were injured in storm-related road accidents.

The 40ft (12m) shipping containers were lost from the Panama-registered Marcos V around the Wadden Islands, en route to Germany.

The Dutch coastguard said it was using helicopters and a emergency towing vessel in the search, while ships in the area had also been asked to keep a look out.

Elsewhere in the Netherlands parts of the roof of the stadium of football team ADO Den Haag was ripped off in the Hague and high speed trains to Belgium, France and the UK were cancelled.

In Germany rail operator Deutsche Bahn said "more than 1,000km" (620 miles) of track had suffered damage.

Poland still had one million customers with electricity cut off on Saturday afternoon, AFP reported, after the country's north-west took a battering.

Ferries across the Channel, the world's busiest shipping lane, were suspended, before the English port of Dover reopened on Friday afternoon. Hundreds of flights were cancelled at airports including Heathrow and Schiphol.