Violent storm kills 23 villagers

A STORM packing hail, heavy rain and winds of up to 120 km per hour has killed at least 23 Bangladeshi villagers, with 19 people missing, witnesses said yesterday.

State-run Bangladesh Television, quoting unofficial sources, reported 30 people had been killed and said some of the severely injured were also expected to die.

Hundreds of mud-walled and tin-shed houses were razed when the storm swept through Noapoti village in Brahmanbaria district, around 180 km east of the capital Dhaka on Sunday night, a witness said.