Tropical storm kills 29 in Vietnam

At least 29 people have died and 12 more are missing and feared dead in the worst tropical storm to hit Vietnam this year, officials said Wednesday as downpours continued across central provinces.

Photo: Tropical storm kills 29 in Vietnam

The bodies of four more drowning victims were recovered Tuesday in Daklak, taking the death toll in the Central Highland province to 11, while nine others swept away in the floods remained missing, said provincial official Phan Thi Thu Hien.

Lightning killed three farmers in Ha Tinh province on Monday, and seven people died in a flash flood in the province the following day, said Trinh Nhu Tien, a provincial disaster official.

"It is still raining heavily in the mountains. The death toll could rise if the weather does not improve in the next few days," the official said.

In Lam Dong province, flash floods killed at least four people, while another was missing and feared dead after being washed away, Duong Thanh Hung, a provincial official, said. A 13-year-old boy was killed by a falling tree, he said.

Three people also died in Nghe An, Phu Yen and Gia Lai - one in each province - and two more were reported missing in Dac Nong province, disaster officials there said.

No deaths were reported in Quang Binh where floods isolated three districts, but casualties were expected because the floodwaters were the deepest in 30 years, said Nguyen Ngoc Dien, a provincial disaster official.

The tropical storm was downgraded to a depression on Monday, but heavy rains continued, the national weather center said.