BERLIN (AP) — Authorities say at least six people have died in western Germany as heavy rains, hail and high winds battered the region.

In the North Rhine-Westphalia capital of Duesseldorf, police said two men and a woman who had sought refuge in a garden house were killed late Monday when a large tree fell on the building, the dpa news agency reported Tuesday. Firefighters were able to rescue six others, who were taken to hospitals.

Police say two bicyclists were killed when hit by falling tree limbs in separate incidents in Cologne and Krefeld, and a man in Essen collapsed and died near midnight as he was working to clear debris from a street.

Many flights from Duesseldorf airport were delayed and some train routes were still closed Tuesday.

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