Storm leaves 15 dead in Europe

Hurricane-force winds lashed northern Spain on Saturday, bringing down the roof of a sports hall near Barcelona, killing four children, officials said. Eleven people died in separate incidents in Spain and south-western France as the fiercest storm in a decade blew in from the Atlantic. Storm leaves 15 dead in Europe Torrential rains and winds of up to 184km/h were reported. It is now tracking across central Italy, bringing rain and winds of 80-95km/h, forecasters say. Some 1.3 million homes in France suffered power cuts while road and rail links were blocked and airports closed. French President Nicolas Sarkozy will visit the region on Sunday. The impact of the storm was felt from the Channel Isles to Barcelona, but the strongest winds and heaviest rain were concentrated on south-western France. Although this type of active low pressure system is fairly common in winter, BBC meteorologist Alex Deakin says Saturday's storm has been described as the most damaging since that of December 1999, which killed 88 people and uprooted millions of trees. The storm tracked south-eastwards and cleared the south-east coast of France during Saturday evening. The Mediterranean islands of Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily have also been affected. The sports hall partially collapsed in the town of Sant Boi de Llobregat, Catalonia, with between 20 and 30 youngsters inside, officials said. The youngsters had gathered to play baseball but the fierce winds drove them to take shelter in a small covered area for spectators, made of concrete, with a corrugated iron roof. "It seems that the roof shifted and brought down part of the wall," a regional government spokeswoman said. Local people and fire-fighters helped free the survivors from the rubble but three children aged between nine and 12 died at the scene, and a fourth child died later in hospital. More than a dozen others received treatment for injures. An elderly woman looks at a damaged house in Tarnos, southwestern France (Beta)

Storm leaves 15 dead in Europe

Torrential rains and winds of up to 184km/h were reported.

It is now tracking across central Italy, bringing rain and winds of 80-95km/h, forecasters say.

Some 1.3 million homes in France suffered power cuts while road and rail links were blocked and airports closed.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will visit the region on Sunday.

The impact of the storm was felt from the Channel Isles to Barcelona, but the strongest winds and heaviest rain were concentrated on south-western France.

Although this type of active low pressure system is fairly common in winter, BBC meteorologist Alex Deakin says Saturday's storm has been described as the most damaging since that of December 1999, which killed 88 people and uprooted millions of trees.

The storm tracked south-eastwards and cleared the south-east coast of France during Saturday evening.

The Mediterranean islands of Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily have also been affected.

The sports hall partially collapsed in the town of Sant Boi de Llobregat, Catalonia, with between 20 and 30 youngsters inside, officials said.

The youngsters had gathered to play baseball but the fierce winds drove them to take shelter in a small covered area for spectators, made of concrete, with a corrugated iron roof.

"It seems that the roof shifted and brought down part of the wall," a regional government spokeswoman said.

Local people and fire-fighters helped free the survivors from the rubble but three children aged between nine and 12 died at the scene, and a fourth child died later in hospital. More than a dozen others received treatment for injures.