Cyclone Aila toll up to 181 in India, Bangladesh

[Coventina]

Source: Associated Press

CALCUTTA, India (AP) — Heavy rains caused deadly mudslides and slowed rescue efforts Wednesday after Cyclone Aila pounded eastern India and Bangladesh, killing at least 181 people.

The cyclone destroyed thousands of homes and stranded hundreds of thousands of people in flooded villages before it began to ease Tuesday. The death toll will likely rise in both countries as rescue workers reach cut-off areas.

Mudslides in India's famed Darjeeling tea district killed at least 20 people overnight, said P. Zimba, a local government official.

The official death toll in India stood at 68 by Wednesday, said Ashok Mohan Chakraborty, a senior official in worst-hit West Bengal state.



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