Whirlwind kills 8 in Vietnam

Whirlwind kills 8 in Vietnam

HANOI, Vietnam (AP): The confirmed death toll from a whirlwind that hit southern Vietnam early this week has risen to eight, an official said Friday.

The whirlwind Sunday sank 116 small fishing boats off the coast of Vietnam's southernmost province of Ca Mau, the provincial government official said.

He said 334 people were able to swim to safety or were rescued by larger boats.

Authorities have given 200,000 dong (US$ 13) to families that lost their fishing boats and 1 million dong ($ 66) to those that lost relatives, the official said.