100 feared dead in Thai floods

Western tourists along with locals aboard a Chiang Mai-bound train left stranded at railway station stay on the top of train in Thailand hardest-hit northern Uttaradit province Tuesday. Up to 100 people were feared dead in floods and mudslides in northern Thailand as rescue teams struggled to clear roads to reach the hardest-hit areas. PHOTO: AFP

"One hundred dead is our preliminary estimate, but we are still receiving reports of missing people," Suksan Wanaputi, acting governor of the hardest-hit province of Uttaradit, told AFP.

Mudslides blocked roads to Lab Lae district, where many of the victims are believed to have been swept away by the floodwaters or buried in the mud in the mountainous region, he said.

Up to two meters (6.6 feet) of water still covered the streets in parts of the province, he added.

So far 30 bodies had been pulled from the mud and water that covered roads and homes, while 77 people were reported missing and feared dead, the disaster management agency said.

"We think that the number of dead and missing are likely to rise," a disaster official told AFP.

The nearby provinces of Nan, Phrae, Lampang and Sukhothai were also hit by the floods after unusually early monsoon rains drenched northern Thailand at the weekend.

Some 1,200 people have been evacuated, while more than 75,000 have suffered damage either to their homes or their farms, the disaster agency said.

At least 168 homes were destroyed in the floods, while 25 schools, temples or government buildings were damaged, it added.

Some 1,000 people who had been stranded at the Den Chai train station in Phrae province were rescued late Tuesday and brought to Bangkok, the State Railway of Thailand said.

But services on lines running north from Bangkok to the city of Chiang Mai were suspended for a second day, railways spokesman Monthskarn Srivilasa said.