German police conduct raids in connection with floods

BERLIN (AP) — Police in western Germany have raided offices and homes in connection with floods last summer in which more than 180 people died and hundreds more were injured. The Cologne public prosecutor’s office coordinated Tuesday’s searches which were executed by 140 police officers. German news agency dpa reported investigations were allegedly focusing on the the owner and lessor of an opencast mine in Erftstadt near the city of Cologne as well as five people of the operating company and four people with the regional district council. During the July floods, the grounds near a gravel pit on the River Erft slipped away after heavy rain had flooded the pit. Several buildings were subsequently swept away, but nobody was killed, dpa reported.