Three dead as Typhoon Wutip batters central Vietnam

At least three people were killed and 26 others injured as Typhoon Wutip slammed into central Vietnam, leaving more than 70 fishermen missing and a trail of devastation in its wake, reports said on Tuesday.

Some 250,000 houses were destroyed or damaged and tens of thousands of hectares of crops were flooded after the typhoon - packing winds of up to 103 kilometres an hour - hit the communist country late on Monday, state media reported.

In China, navy warships and aircraft were deployed to search for survivors after three Chinese fishing boats sank in rough waters whipped up by Typhoon Wutip.

More than 70 people were reported missing, Beijing’s official Xinhua news agency reported, citing maritime authorities.

By early on Tuesday the typhoon had weakened to a tropical depression and moved over neighbouring Laos, Vietnamese meteorologists said.

Two people were killed in Vietnam’s central Quang Binh province after strong winds toppled a radio station antenna as the storm hit on Monday.