Lightning strikes in several European countries have killed and caused serious injuries as summer storms hit across the Continent.
A man was killed in southern Poland as he was hit by lightning while descending a mountain.
In Paris, a birthday party in Parc Monceau was struck, injuring 11 people, eight of them children. Several are in a life-threatening condition.
Three people were seriously hurt at a youth football match in Germany.
Initial reports said 35 people had been injured at the match in Hoppstaedten in the country's south-west - however, many were taken to hospital as a precaution.
Paris police said the children injured in Parc Monceau on Saturday afternoon were aged about nine.
They were struck after seeking shelter under a tree, police said.
An off-duty firefighter, Pascal Gremillot, happened to be nearby and was able to rapidly administer first aid and heart massages. Officials said the situation would have been much worse if he had not been there.
Six of those injured are in a serious condition.
Image copyright APReports in Poland said that a man in his 40s died after being hit by lightning while hiking in the mountains in the south of the country. Separately, a second man was found dead in a river swollen by heavy rains.
Another group of three tourists were struck by lightning in the mountains, mountain rescue told TVN24.
'Blue sky'
Witnesses to the lightning strike at a football match in Hoppstaedten said there were no dark clouds and the sky was blue when lightning struck at the end of the match.
The referee was one of three adults at the match who suffered serious injuries, police in Kaiserslautern said. He took a direct lightning hit, suffered a cardiac arrest and was taken to hospital by helicopter.
Another man was also airlifted to hospital and a third was taken by ambulance. All three injured men were in their 40s, the police added.
According to German media reports, some of the child footballers, aged nine to 11, were taken to hospital as a precaution after electrocardiogram (ECG) investigations showed their heart function required further investigation.
Image copyright Polizeidirection KaiserslauternTorrential rain also halted play at the French Open as defending champion Serena Williams was about to start a match against Kristina Mladenovic.
Safety tips when lightning strikes
- Seek shelter inside a large building or a car
- Get out of wide, open spaces and exposed hilltops
- If you have nowhere to shelter, make yourself as small a target as possible by crouching down with your feet together, hands on knees and head tucked in
- Do not shelter beneath tall or isolated trees
- If you are on water, get to the shore and off wide, open beaches as quickly as possible
Source: Rospa
Analysis, by Clive Mills-Hicks, Meteorologist, Met Office
The storms developed because a very warm and humid air mass covered mainland north-west Europe at the same time as the air higher up in the atmosphere was becoming colder, creating a very "unstable" atmosphere.
This instability manifested itself in the storms which developed extremely rapidly once the air had warmed up sufficiently.
Over much of the area, the temperature climbed to 25 Celsius, more than enough to trigger the storm clouds. Such storms produce intense rainfall, hail, and numerous lightning strikes and it is typical for them to be at their most widespread and intense in the early afternoon. They are not unusual over the continent during the summer, although today's outbreaks were perhaps more widespread than normal.
Further storms are likely over Europe on Sunday: the areas expected to see the storms are southern and eastern Germany, the Czech Republic, and the western half of Poland.
In addition to the widespread nature of today's storms, the fact that they came at a weekend, and during otherwise fine, warm weather, made it more likely that they would have an impact on people.
How do you recover from being struck by lightning?
Are you in the area? Did you witness what happened? If you are safe and able to share your experiences, email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk
If you are happy to speak to a BBC journalist, please include a contact telephone number.
You can also contact us in the following ways:
- WhatsApp: +44 7525 900971
- Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay
- Send pictures/video to yourpics@bbc.co.uk
- Upload your pictures/video here
- Text an SMS or MMS to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (international)