BEIJING – (UPDATE) At least 23 people were killed and more than 160 injured when a tornado struck China's southwestern mega-city of Chongqing Thursday, smashing homes and destroying crops, state media reported.
The tornado hit two rural counties in the giant municipality at around 2:00 a.m. (1800 GMT Wednesday), Xinhua news agency said, citing government sources.
The number of dead and injured was still being tallied, the report said.
Power outages were reported in at least two towns in the wide disaster zone, it said, noting that the strong tornado was accompanied by hailstorms.
The local government has begun organizing rescue and relief operations, it added.
Chongqing has a population of more than 30 million people.
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 10:29:00 05/06/2010
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