Cyclone death toll in Oman, Yemen rises to 11: authorities

SALALAH, Oman: The death toll from a cyclone that battered southern Oman and the Yemeni island of Socotra has reached 11, while eight sailors are still missing, authorities said. Cyclone Mekunu hit Oman´s Dhofar and Al-Wusta provinces on Friday after intensifying from a category one to a category two cyclone, with winds of up to 170 kilometres (over 100 miles) per hour after it made landfall on Socotra on Thursday. Oman´s civil defence service on Saturday reported two deaths, adding to an earlier toll of a man and a 12-year-old girl. “The third is an Asian man who was missing but his body was found late Saturday in Dhofar” province, spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Saeed Al-Badaei said at a press conference late Saturday. “The fourth is a young Omani man who was swept away in his car by flooding,” he added. Socotra´s governor Ramzy Mahrous said on Sunday that the death toll on the island remained seven — five Yemenis and two Indian sailors. A further eight Indian sailors remain missing. The southeastern part of the island remains cut off, but authorities are working to access the area and assess damage, Mahrous told AFP.