1.
CU Sign
0.06

2.
GV Flooded street
0.11

3.
SV Sign "Passion Spielhauss"
0.14

4.
GV Ext. building
0.22

5.
SV & GV Water pumped out of building (2 shots)
0.29

6.
SV & GN Pan orchestra pit surrounded by firemen Pan to interior theatre (2 shots)
0.43

7.
SV Firemen in orchestra pit
0.46

8.
SV Nurses in attendance
0.50

9.
GV Ext. building with fire engine outside
0.53

10.
GV People and vehicles through floodwater (2 shots)
1.02

11.
LV People in rowing boat on flooded STREET
1.09



Initials GHB/DW/CO GHB/DW/OS



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: A performance of the famous Passion Play at Oberammergau was brought to an abrupt halt today (Monday) when floodwater poured into the theatre.

Thousands of tourists, staying in the Alpine village for the Passion Play spectacle, were trapped in their hotels with floodwater in the streets outside reaching a depth of almost five feet (1.50 metres).

A nearby United States Army Barracks offered shelter, food and blankets to anyone stranded.

The floods, which were affecting a wide area of Bavaria between Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Oberammergau, were described by local officials as among the worst on record.

Apart from the unexpected interruption of the Passion Play, local roads and several sections of railway track were also underwater.

SYNOPSIS: Torrential rain in parts of Bavaria disrupted road and rail traffic, and in the Alpine village of Oberammergau floodwater brought an abrupt halt to a performance of the famous Passion Play.

The audience had to be evacuated from the theatre where the annual religious spectacle is staged.

As in most theatres, the orchestra play in a pit, or recess, and this was among the first areas to be flooded.

Firemen were kept busy pumping the water out of scores of buildings, and thousands of tourists in Oberammergau for the Passion Play were trapped in their hotels.

According to local officials, the floods were among the worst on record. Some streets were submerged to a depth of five feet (1.50 metres).