At least seven people were reported dead in Sweden after hurricane-force winds hit the south of the country from Saturday, including four motorists whose cars were hit by falling trees.  

The storm cut the electricity supply to around 411,000 households in southern Sweden, the national news agency TT reported. An airport had been temporarily closed while ferry traffic was heavily disrupted and five passenger trains stuck without heat and light were evacuated, the agency said.

About 200,000 homes were without fixed telephone lines, mostly in western and southern Sweden, as base stations lost power and crews were unable to reach emergency generators because of the storm.

Swedish meteorologists said the storm is the strongest from 1969 and also caused the heaviest casualties and damages to this country ever since.

The winds whipped across most of the southern Scandinavia, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without electricity and creating transport chaos.

In Denmark, the severe storm hit the entire country and caused widespread disruption to trains and ferry transport.

Danish police said two men were killed when they were struck by a roof torn off a cottage on the Island of Funen. Two others were killed by falling trees.

Reports monitored here said more than 60,000 households in Denmark were left without power after the strong storm-force winds.     

Both Swedish and Denmark authorities have urged their citizens to stay indoors due to the storm.

(Xinhua News Agency January 10, 2005)