Asia typhoon kills 104, scores missing in Vietnam

HANOI - A typhoon that raked the South China Sea has killed at least 104 people, and Vietnamese officials said today that more than 160 fishermen were still missing and feared dead.

Typhoon Chanchu, the strongest on record to enter the South China Sea in May, the start of the storm season, left a trail of destruction through China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

It killed at least 37 people in the Philippines last weekend. By early this morning, bodies of 44 Vietnamese fishermen were found by Vietnamese and Taiwanese rescuers after Chanchu, the Chinese word for "pearl", moved west briefly before changing course to head north, sweeping away dozens of Vietnam's ships in its path.

The typhoon, with winds up to 170km/h, killed 23 people in China after it slammed into the southern coast yesterday and moved north where it weakened.

In Vietnam five fishing ships sank off the central city of Danang with 122 crew members, and rescuers have found 20 bodies and rescued 30 others, said Tran Van Huy, director of the city's Fisheries Department.

"The toll of 20 is preliminary, while the loss of lives will be huge," Huy told Reuters by telephone. "We also have five more ships missing with 97 people."

A Red Cross Association official in Quang Ngai province said bodies of five fishermen were recovered.

State media today said another 19 fishermen from Quang Nam province were killed.

Vietnamese officials said Chanchu's toll was high because fishermen had tried to avoid the typhoon by sailing north, not anticipating that the typhoon would change direction.

They said the toll could rise further by next week when many fishermen who had taken shelter on Chinese islands were expected to return with news of others who might be missing.

In China, Chanchu had forced the evacuation of more than 1 million people and the cancellation of flights and ferries.

Natural disasters, especially storms and floods, claimed lives of several hundred people in Vietnam each year, especially during its storm season between May and October.

- REUTERS