Madagascar cyclone death toll climbs to 74

[senorpepr]

ANTANANARIVO (AFP) - At least 74 people were killed when cyclone Gafilo ripped across northern Madagascar eight days ago, rescue officials on the Indian Ocean island revealed.

The storm also left some 200,000 homeless and 169 people were still listed as missing, including 100 of the passengers and crew of a ferry from the nearby Comoro Islands that sank during the storm.

"Of the 120 people on board, three survived and 17 bodies have been recovered and were buried this weekend," the police commander in the northwestern port of Mahajanga, Colonel Patrick Tsifiregne, told AFP on Monday.

The new toll does not, however, include the crew of a fishing boat that was found overturned in the mouth of the Betsiboka River in Mahajanga after the storm.

"As of last night, four survivors and six bodies have been found," Tsifiregne said of the Vega 9 trawler.

The company that owned the fishing boat has said 15 men were on board.

"The search is continuing for the five others," said Tsifiregne.

A toll issued Sunday for Gafilo put the number of dead at 59, with around 160 still missing.

Madagascar observed 24 hours of mourning Sunday for those killed in two cyclones -- Gafilo and Elita -- which have left well over 200 people dead or missing since February.