ERKELENZ (dpa-AFX) - Police continued evacuating the lignite village of Lützerath occupied by activists Sunday morning. Police height rescuers attached to a crane tried to get to activists in trees, a spokesman said.

According to police, only a few activists remain in Lützerath. The number of people is estimated to be in single digits, the spokesman said. Two people are said to be holding out in one tunnel. According to an activist on the ground, about 20 people are still on the site.

The sealed-off settlement in the Rhineland area has been cleared by police since Wednesday. The few buildings in the settlement are being demolished to allow energy company RWE to excavate the lignite underneath. Activists want to prevent this.

On Saturday, many thousands of people demonstrated against the eviction and demolition of Lützerath in the neighboring village of Keyenberg - including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. At the edge of the demonstration, there were clashes between demonstrators and police. According to police, people were injured on both sides./amr/DP/nas