Dozens killed as typhoon Kalmaegi hits Philippines

The death toll from Typhoon Kalmaegi in the Philippines hit 46 on Tuesday, officials said, including six crew of a military helicopter that crashed during the powerful storm that unleashed heavy rains and floods across the central region.

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The Huey helicopter went down in Agusan del Sur on the island of Mindanao, where it was conducting a humanitarian disaster response mission, the military said.

Six bodies of the crew were recovered and an investigation was underway.

The crash took place before noon about 270 km from the island of Cebu, the worst-hit region, where local authorities said 39 people had been killed by drowning or falling debris. One person was reported dead on the neighbouring island of Bohol.

The Philippines, which is hit by an average of 20 tropical storms each year, is recovering from a run of disasters including earthquakes and severe weather events in recent months.

In September, Super Typhoon Ragasa swept across northern Luzon, forcing schools and government offices to shut down as it brought fierce winds and torrential rain.

Although Kalmaegi, locally named Tino, has gradually lost strength since making landfall early on Tuesday, it continued to lash the country with winds of 120 kph and gusts of 165 kph as it swept across the Visayas islands headed for northern Palawan and towards the South China Sea.