Thousands believed dead in Kwun Gyan Kone, Rangoon Division: Eyewitness

Mizzima News

Wednesday, 07 May 2008 23:33

New Delhi – The intolerable smell of dead humans and cattle was still spreading as corpses lay uncollected in Kwun Gyan Kone Township in western Rangoon division, an eyewitness said. A local resident, who had visited Kwun Gyan Kone township today, said bodies of humans as well as cattle – including cows and buffaloes – are seen everywhere. "The whole area stinks, and there are several bodies everywhere," the resident said. "Though it is hard to count, there could be hundreds." Kwun Gyan Kone is about 40 miles southwest of Rangoon and a few miles from Irrawaddy division. The resident said a government rescue team led by the ruling junta's Energy Minister Lun Thi has arrived in the town to conduct recovery work. "The human deaths are not much in the town, but there are more along the road to rural villages in the township," the resident said. He added that several villages have been submerged by flood waters. And he said that many people died due to lack of information about the coming cyclone. The water level in the township is still about four feet inside the houses. "Now the people are not scared only of the storm but are scared of ghosts, too," the man said. Local villagers estimate that there could be about 10,000 deaths, he added. The government rescue team began distributing rice, bottles of mineral water and dry noodles to families in the town, the local said. However, villagers in rural areas have not been reached. The local also added that he had seen the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) approaching Kwun Gyan Kone. However, he said he is not aware of their rescue activities. Meanwhile, an eyewitness in Rangoon said about ten bodies – children, men and women - have been recovered from the Hlaing River in Rangoon. "I think the bodies have floated from the Kwun Gyan Kone areas," the eyewitness told Mizzima.   < Prev   Next >