Search for survivors
Hanoi: Vietnam was on the hunt for survivors yesterday after landslides triggered by Typhoon Molave lashed a central region already reeling from weeks of heavy rains that have killed at least 160 people.
Troops with heavy equipment were deployed to the sites of the landslides in remote areas of Quang Nam province, where 19 people were killed and 48 were missing, with early rescue efforts hampered by bad weather.
‘‘The road is covered under deep mud and heavy rains are still lashing the area, but rescue work has to be carried out quickly,’’ Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said.
The bodies of 12 fishermen were found at sea yesterday and the navy was searching for 14 others missing since their boats sank while trying to come ashore two days earlier, state broadcaster VTV reported.
Since early October, Vietnam has been battered by storms, heavy rains and floods.
The Government said Typhoon Molave had left millions of people without electricity and damaged 56,000 houses. — Reuters.