(Bu Ma) The Cyclone Mocha killed at least 41 in villages in Rakhine state in western Burma, local officials told AFP on Tuesday.
With winds blowing up to 195 km/h, Mocha crashed Sunday between Sittwe, capital of Rakhine State, and Cox’s Bazar in neighboring Bangladesh.
“We can confirm that there are 17 dead,” said Karlo, administrator of the village of Bu Ma, to an AFP journalist on the spot, two days after the passage of Mocha.
“There will be other deaths, as more than a hundred people are missing,” Karlo added.
This figure is added to a count of 24 dead communicated to AFP by a chief of the neighboring locality of Khaung Doke Kar.
This leader requested anonymity fearing reprisals from the ruling junta.
The latest count established Monday by the junta reported five dead and an unspecified number of wounded.
It is unclear whether any of Bu Ma’s and Khaung Doke Kar’s deaths were included in the junta’s tally.
AFP was awaiting an updated count of victims on Tuesday. Mocharequested from a spokesperson for the junta.