Six drown in flood accidents

Six drown in flood accidents

BANGKOK (Reuter): Six people were feared dead in weekend accidents as severe flooding continued to wreak havoc across large parts of northern and northeastern Thailand, Interior Ministry officials said yesterday.

A Buddhist monk drowned after he was swept away by flood waters in northeastern Sakon Nakhon province while five people were missing and feared dead after their boat capsized and sank in northern Uttaradit province on Sunday, the officials said.

Large areas in 20 of Thailand's 76 provinces were badly affected by flooding after more than a week of heavy rains, the officials from the ministry's Disaster Prevention Center said.

The northern provinces of Phrae and Uttaradit were the most severely affected with some areas cut off by two meters of water. Thousands of people have been forced out of their homes, the officials said.