Tornado strikes Pomas village in south-west France, injuring 39

A tornado has torn through the village of Pomas in south-west France, injuring 39 people and damaging hundreds of homes.

Authorities said 15 people were taken to hospital and two were in a critical condition. One man said his pregnant wife was injured after their house collapsed on her.

More than 120 emergency workers were deployed to the village south of Carcassonne after winds reaching 117km/h (73mph) tore roofs off houses and damaged an estimated 300 homes on Monday.

"Half the village has been destroyed," said one resident called Pierre, who described the tornado as swirling like a "huge red and yellow chimney".

"There's a huge castle and a third of it is has collapsed - even though these are stones that have stood for 1,000 years," Pierre told Ici Occitanie.

The third stage of the Vuelta a España cycle race, which was taking place in the Aude area of south-western France, had to be cancelled when a hail storm forced the riders to take shelter about 15km from the finish line.

The extreme weather has left about 2,800 homes across 10 villages without electricity, according to officials.

Local sub-prefect Emmanuelle Plantier-Lemarchand told French radio that she was not aware of anyone missing. She lowered the number of victims from 41 to 39, and said 15 of them had been treated in hospital.

"I heard this massive noise... then I saw everything flying around in the air and my roof collapsed over my head," shocked resident Chantal told French radio. "I've got no house left, that's for sure... I was really scared. I thought that's it, this my final hour."