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Philippines

Roundup: Three dead in storms in Philippines

Manila_(dpa) _ At least three people were killed after two storms battered the Philippines, causing massive flooding, landslides and several deadly accidents, officials said Thursday.

A 9-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man were killed in landslides in the northern city of Baguio and Luba town in Abra province, the Office of Civil Defence said.

In Manila, another 9-year-old boy died Wednesday after being electrocuted while wading in knee-deep floodwater outside his school, police said.

Three students were also critically injured in a separate electrocution incident near the same school as they went home after classes were suspended.

Thirteen fishermen earlier reported missing were rescued off Iba town in Zambales province, 120 kilometres north-west of Manila, coast guard spokesman Lieutenant Armand Balilo said.

Balilo said the fishermen's ship had run out of fuel at the height of the storm, prompting three of its 16 crewmembers to board a motorboat towards Iba but the vessel capsized.

The three men were able to swim to shore and get help for the other fishermen, Balilo said.

"The ship is okay and has already left the area after its sister ship came to its rescue and gave it fuel," he said, adding that the coast guard has called off its rescue operation.

The Philippines has been experiencing heavy rains since the weekend because of the storm Pabuk, which has already blown out of the country.

But another storm, Wutip, was bringing in heavy rains over the northern Philippines, including Manila, the weather bureau said.

Classes in all school levels remained suspended Thursday in Manila and several northern provinces as many areas were submerged in floodwater as high as waist deep.

Some roads in the provinces have been closed because of landslides and floods while nearly 6,000 people have been forced to flee their homes and stay in evacuation centres.

Wutip has maintained its strength as it moved toward Taiwan with maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometres an hour and gusts of up to 90 kilometres an hour, the weather bureau said.

Residents in coastal areas were warned against large waves while those living in low-lying areas and near mountain slopes were advised against possible flashfloods and landslides.

On Monday, 10 people were killed in a landslide in a mountainous town in a southern Philippine province after days of heavy monsoon rains. dpa gl jg jh

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