Flooding prevents pilgrims from reaching Catholic shrine

2013-06-19 106

Pilgrims hoping to reach Lourdes, the legendary Catholic shrine in south-western France, were out of luck.

Heavy flooding prompted officials to close the site --- where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a young girl.

A seventy-year-old woman was recently killed trying to exit her waterlogged car.

In town, cleanup efforts are underway after days of high water --- which in some parts were three feet deep.