The death toll from flash floods that swept through three remote villages in northern Thailand early today has risen to 73, rescue officials said. Nearly 100 people are still missing.
Searching one damaged house, rescuers had found six bodies from a single family, clinging to each other in death on a bed.
The number of missing people is rising as more people have notified us that they have not found their relatives.
It is likely more bodies will be found, some still concealed by the thick layer of mud deposited by the floodwaters that crashed down on the villages on yesterday morning, catching some people still asleep.
About 70 mostly wooden houses were destroyed, leaving some 400 people homeless in the middle of the annual rainy season.
Relatives of victims from nearby had reached the devastated villages and were helping with rescue efforts. Roads had been cut in the area, 345 km north of Bangkok.