5,000 plucked from rooftops as water recedes

THOUSANDS of people were plucked from rooftops in southern Mexico yesterday as water receded after flooding that left 800,000 homeless in Tabasco state, authorities said.

The army evacuated 5,000 people in a four-hour operation with 14 helicopters, police official Daniel Montiel said, as more food and bottled water was trucked in to crammed shelters that were struggling to provide enough meals and beds.

Army officials estimated another 80,000 people were still trapped in flooded homes. Aerial images showed the area resembling a huge lake with just the tops of roofs poking through.