DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A cyclone tore through the low-lying Bangladesh coast Wednesday, killing more than 14 people, uprooting utility poles and plunging the region into darkness, a domestic new agency said.
The storm, with winds of up to 100 mph, hit the coast early Wednesday and blew over by late morning. As many as 200 people were injured in the South Asian nation, the United News of Bangladesh news agency said.
There was no official confirmation of the casualties, but the news agency said the 14 deaths were reported in the Chittagong region, about 135 miles southeast of the capital, Dhaka.
At least 18 fishermen were missing in the Bay of Bengal, a district official in Chittagong said.
Officials said the cyclone cut telecommunication links with the capital and they could not completely assess the extent of death and destruction.
But initial reports from coastal areas said about 10,000 mud-and-straw and tin dwellings have been blown away.