Soldiers search for bodies in Thailand

May 25th, 2006 by admin

UTTARADIT, Thailand - Soldiers search for bodies in Thailand

More than 1,000 soldiers searched for bodies under a sea of mud and debris Thursday in northern Thailand following flash floods that were believed to have killed more than 100 people.

The Public Health Ministry reported 51 people dead and 87 missing from the flooding that began Monday after several days of torrential rains. More than 250 people were injured in landslides.

But Boonriang Chuchai-saengrat, chief health officer of Uttaradit province, said he feared more than 100 perished in his province alone.

The troops were dispatched early Thursday to Uttaradit, where teams searched for bodies in the province’s hard-hit Tha Pla district, an area where more than 40 villagers were reportedly washed away by flash floods, but only two bodies have been recovered, Maj. Lertchai Khaithong said.

Rescue teams also brought sniffing dogs to the area to search for bodies covered by mud.

Local and government officials have released conflicting numbers, with some reporting more than 300 missing. Officials have been slow to release updated figures because of communication problems.

Some 400 search and rescue volunteers in helicopters and on foot have been trying to reach thousands of people stranded in their houses, on trains and in open terrain in northern Thailand.