Massive floods kill 26 in central Vietnam; helicopters drop aid to isolated villages

Massive floods kill 26 in Vietnam; 9 missing

HANOI, Vietnam — Helicopters dropped food aid Wednesday to people in villages cut off by high water as the death toll from flooding this week in central Vietnam rose to 26, with nine people missing, disaster officials said.

In the worst-hit province of Quang Binh, 11 people were dead while authorities searched for five sailors from a sunken barge, disaster official Nguyen Ngoc Giai said.

Giai said two helicopters dropped food and water to several villages still cut off by floodwaters while rescuers rushed food aid to other villages over land.

In other central provinces, seven people were reported dead and one missing in Ha Tinh province, five dead and three missing in Nghe An and three dead in Quang Tri, disaster officials there said.

Light rains were reported in the region Wednesday and floodwaters began receding slowly, officials said. Forecasters said a tropical depression was expected to bring rains to the region in the coming days, but they were unlikely to cause major floods.

Rail service in Quang Binh province has been disrupted since Tuesday and many parts of the track remain under water, the Vietnam Railway Corp. said.