Typhoon Kills 53 in Taiwan, 32 Still Missing

Taiwan rescue workers searched for 32 people on Thursday after Typhoon Xangsane, the island's most destructive storm in five years, triggered flash floods and landslides that killed at least 53 people.

The typhoon, which poured rain on the island from Monday to Wednesday night, also may have played a role in the crash of a Singapore Airlines jet that killed at least 81 people.

Intense rains brought by the typhoon triggered rock and mudslides in mountainous regions, burying dozens of people, causing widespread power outages and blocking roads.

The Taiwan government put initial agricultural losses at around T$2 billion (US$62.5 million), and said it was the most destructive typhoon since Typhoon Herb killed 73 people and caused T$14 billion in losses in July 1996.

Floodwaters fed by Typhoon Xangsane drowned 14 elderly people, who were trapped in their rest home in the northern city of Keelung.

"They were elderly and could not move very quickly," said an official at the "interior ministry's " disaster response centre.

Grieving relatives said help did not come fast enough.

"By the time they arrived, all the people died," said one woman whose parent drowned in the rest home.

Another 15 people drowned in the basement of an apartment, where they had been attending a religious gathering.

On Wednesday, a Panamanian-registered cargo ship sank during the typhoon off Taiwan's northeast coast and only one of the 24-member crew had been found.

The "National Fire Administration", which handles search and rescue missions, said the Manila Spirit sank in rough seas off northeastern Sanhao Point while Typhoon Xangsane swept north along the island's east coast.

One crew member swam to shore and was in hospital. Two helicopter searches on Thursday failed to turn up more survivors and a rescue ship had been sent to the area.

A family of five whose house was washed away in a flood was also listed as missing, while 48 were injured by Xangsane, or Elephant God in Chinese.



People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/