Laos storm death toll lowered to 16: Red Cross

HANOI, Oct 9 (AFP) - The death toll from Tropical Storm Ketsana in Laos has been lowered to 16, the country's Red Cross said on Friday.

It had earlier given a toll of 24 but the latest information from hardest-hit Attapeu province led to a revision, said Bountheung Menvilay, head of the Lao Red Cross disaster preparedness division.

Thirteen of the dead were Vietnamese working at a hydro-power construction site in Attapeu, Bountheung told AFP from the province.

The government has not yet given an official toll, spokesman Khenthong Nuanthasing said.

Ketsana hit Laos, one of Asia's poorest nations, on September 30 after leaving 163 dead in Vietnam when it was a more powerful typhoon. Ketsana also killed at least 17 people in Cambodia and 337 in the Philippines.
(AFP)