Saturday, October 3, 2009

Ketsana toll in Laos rises to 24: Red Cross

AFP

The death toll from Tropical Storm Ketsana in Laos has risen to 24, the country's Red Cross said on Saturday.

Seven people who refused to leave their homes in southernmost Attapeu province accounted for most of the additional deaths, said Bountheung Menvilay, head of the agency's disaster preparedness division.

Their houses were swept into a river, he said.

On Friday, when details of the tragedy began to emerge from one of Asia's poorest nations, Bountheung reported 16 deaths from the storm which moved through the country on Wednesday.

Ketsana has brought devastation across Southeast Asia, first killing at least 293 people in the Philippines last weekend before striking Vietnam, where 99 died, and Cambodia where it claimed 17 lives.

Attapeu province borders Cambodia and, along with adjacent Sekong province, has been the hardest hit in Laos, aid workers said.

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