Storms in Vietnam kill 28 as fears grow over 17 men hit by landslide

Ten people were reported dead amid torrential rains in Vietnam, bringing the total death toll from storms in the country to 28, local authorities said on Tuesday.

“We have 12 reported still missing and grave concerns over 17 workers who may have been buried under a landslide.

“Among the dead are 22 people who were swept away by floods, three crew members who drowned at sea, and three others who were electrocuted during a clean-up,’’ local authorities said in a report.

Authorities in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue mobilised a helicopter to verify reports of a landslide that hit at an under-construction hydro-electric plant and may have buried 17 workers inside the building.

Nguyen Dai Thanh, the director of the company constructing the facility, told state media his company received information about the incident on Monday, yet reports received by phone were difficult to verify due to poor signal.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Tuesday morning requested local authorities to urgently search for and rescue the workers.

The access road, however, is currently cut off due to flooding.

Central parts of the country have experienced heavy rains since Tuesday as two storms battered the central coast.

Torrential rains have flooded over 131,000 houses in the region, along with at least 244 schools.

Authorities have warned that more flash floods and landslides will occur in the coming days as a new weather system.

It added that tropical storm Nangka, is expected to bring strong winds and rain as it hits north-central Vietnam on Wednesday.