Floods kill 2 people in northeast Romania

BUCHAREST, Romania – Romanian authorities say two people have drowned after heavy rain in the country’s northeast, with thousands of emergency workers mobilized to help flood-rescue efforts.

The Inspectorate for Emergency Situations in the county of Suceava said a 69-year-old woman fell into a river Wednesday when a bridge she was crossing collapsed and was swept away by the fast-flowing river. Authorities retrieved her body 10 kilometres (6 miles) downstream.

Her death was the second fatality in 24 hours. Authorities said a cowherd in his 40s drowned Tuesday after he tried to rescue a cow that had got stuck in a flooded river in the northeastern village of Margineni near the city of Piatra Neamt.

Romanian authorities dispatched 5,100 personnel to help people affected by flooding and storms.