Flood situation in southern Germany remains tense

The flood situation in the southern German state of Bavaria remains tense, reported dpa.

Even though the situation seems to be slowly easing in many places, there are fears that there could be more deaths in addition to the five confirmed flood victims due to several missing persons.

The search for a missing firefighter in western Bavaria continues on Wednesday, the police said. The 22-year-old has not yet been found, said a police spokesman in Kempten. Police were to search for the missing man on land and with drones from the air.

The young man had capsized in a water rescue boat in Offingen on Saturday night. The other four rescue workers on board were able to save themselves and remained unharmed.

There is still hope that he will be found alive, said the police spokesman. "But the chances are getting a little slimmer by the day."

Elsewhere in Bavaria, the water level is falling very slowly at a high level, a spokeswoman for the city of Regensburg said on Wednesday morning.

The Flood Information Service (HND) said the level of the River Danube in the area was still over 6 metres - normally it is around 3 metres.

On Tuesday evening, the emergency services evacuated around 30 houses along a road by the river because the subsoil was continuing to soften due to the high groundwater level.

The stabilization of the protective walls will continue to be the focus of disaster control on Wednesday, the spokeswoman said. "That is our weak point."

In Passau near the border with Austria and the Czech Republic, the water levels on the Danube and the River Inn slowly fell on Wednesday.