July 26, 2007	Thursday	Rajab 10, 1428

DHAKA: A powerful storm flattened hundreds of homes in eastern Bangladesh on Wednesday, killing a child and injuring 500 people, police said. Three crew were missing after a Bangladeshi ship carrying more than 1,400 tonnes of cement sank in the Bay of Bengal near Chittagong port, 300 km (188 miles) southeast of the capital, Dhaka.

The ship sank quickly, but 10 of the crew were rescued, port officials said.

The 80 kph storm accompanied by rain swept through several districts, uprooting power and telephone poles and damaging crops.

Storms kill hundreds of people in Bangladesh every year.

Annual monsoon rains have eased over the past two days, but the country's major rivers Padma and Brahmaputra were rising, raising fears of widespread flooding.—Reuters