Tornado kills four, injures seven in North Vietnam

HANOI - A freak tornado killed four people and injured seven others when it tore through several villages in northern Vietnam, wrecking houses and schools, a government official said on Tuesday.

The tornado destroyed 14 homes and four schools when it swept through Cao Bang province early on Monday, said Nguyen Ngoc Truyen, chief administrator of the provincial floods and storms committee. Another 136 homes and five schools were damaged.

"It was lucky that the tornado hit at night when there were no children in school," Truyen told Reuters.

Floods and storms usually begin from mid-April in northern and central Vietnam.

Cao Bang province, 272 km (169 miles) north of Hanoi, is on Vietnam's northern border with China.

- REUTERS