At least 16 people died and over 50 villages were inundated as cyclone Phet hit the Pakistani coastal areas on Sunday night. “We are still ascertaining damages. Sixteen deaths have been reported so far,” a government official told this newspaper.
“The cyclone Phet has now passed the Pakistani areas and no more rain is expected in Sindh, including Karachi,” a Meteorological department official said. After lashing the Makran coast, the cyclone caused torrential rainfall in Karachi, Badin, Hyderabad and adjoining areas. Widespread destruction of hutments of coastal communities by sea swell and gusty winds was reported by fishermen’s representatives, who also expressed concern over lack of facilities in relief camps.
***
Mishap in Indonesia kills 10 kids
Jakarta : Ten children died when a suspension bridge collapsed in western Indonesia over the weekend, officials said Monday.
Rescuers were searching for five others still missing. Dozens of people were on the bridge in Aceh province watching a traditional ceremony intended to ward off disasters when it collapsed in six-feet high floodwaters triggered by heavy rains, said National Disaster Management agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono.
Ten children between the ages of 6 and 13 were killed in Sunday’s disaster, said Muhammad Yusuf, chief of Aih Ilang village. Seasonal downpours cause annual flash flooding in Indonesia. —AFP
***
Cops dig up cocaine in Philippines
Manila : The police have dug up over one million dollars’ worth of cocaine believed to be part of a huge shipment dumped off a central Philippine island by a south American cartel, an official said Monday.
Agents recovered almost 20 kilos of cocaine in different areas of Samar island on Saturday following a tip-off by a fisherman, said Antonio Villar, who heads a government anti-smuggling task force.
The cocaine, kept in 17 individual packs, was valued at $1.6 million and is said to be part of a cache that was dumped off the waters of Samar this year, Villar said in a statement.
More than 200 kilos of sealed bricks of cocaine had already washed up on the beaches of Samar, the Philippines’ third biggest island. —AFP
***
6 injured in blast at China eatery
Beijing : At least six people were injured after a suicide bomber set off a homemade bomb inside a restaurant in China’s Guizhou province after being involved in a dispute with the eatery owner, the police said.
The suicide bomber in Sunday’s incident in Guiyang city was later identified as Ren Guangqi, a 52-year-old street peddler from Yinjiang county, GLobal Times reported quoting police officials.
—IANS