12 July 2010 Last updated at 14:55 ET

Eight injured as German tornado hits North Sea island

The storm came amid a heatwave in Germany

At least eight people have been injured after a tornado struck a German island in the North Sea.

The tornado hit a campsite with about 100 people on the island of Duene, off the coast of the larger island Heligoland, at 1315 GMT.

Storms have also hit other parts of the country amid a heatwave in Germany, with temperatures reaching 40C.

Two people were seriously injured, and at least six people were less badly hurt, reports say.

The tornado destroyed the campsite and knocked over light aircraft at a nearby airfield, according to the DPA news agency.

Eyewitnesses described a "black wall" that formed and then dissipated, the news agency said.

Several people were injured by flying deckchairs, the ZDF television network reported.

Heligoland itself was undamaged by the storm.

Disruption

Tornadoes form after periods of extremely hot weather, when cooler air moves in.

The end of the hot weather has caused disruption elsewhere in Germany.

In the northern town of Nordhorn, a woman was killed by a falling tree.

Several train lines were also affected, including the services from Cologne to Dusseldorf and Aachen.