Afghan floods kill 26, 100 missing

KABUL – At least 26 people were killed and more than 100 were missing after flash floods hit three villages in northern Afghanistan, officials told AFP May 7.

Most of the victims were women and children as the floods, caused by heavy rains, swept through areas of Deh Mardan District in Sari Pul Province, said Fazlullah Sadat, head of the provincial disaster management authority.

Some of the victims were attending a wedding party in the area.

"This is a human tragedy. We have a lot of human losses," Sadat said, confirming the numbers of dead and missing.

The Defence Ministry dispatched two helicopters to flood-hit areas, he said, and disaster management teams assisted by the UN's World Food Programme were at the scene, distributing food, blankets and tents. A search for the missing continues.

The floods also swept away livestock and swamped agricultural lands.