Monsoon rains intensified by two typhoons battered the Philippines, killing at least 10 people, including three South Korean tourists who drowned after stormy seas capsized their boat, officials said today.
Two other Koreans were missing while 18 compatriots were rescued when their motorboat capsized yesterday evening off Batangas province just south of Manila, they said.
Eleven other people were injured in various incidents while more than 4,000 fled their homes as heavy rains pummelled a wide area of the main island of Luzon, including Manila, triggering floods and landslides, the civil defence office said.
The South Koreans, numbering 23, had come from the Puerto Galera tourist resort and were sailing towards Batangas when heavy seas overturned their boat, called April Boy, the civil defence office said in a statement.
The three Koreans who died were all female, including a child aged four, it said.
A family of four was buried by a landslide in Batangas province, about 100 km (60 miles) south of Manila, at the height of the rains yesterday.
The monsoon rains, which continued to batter the capital today, were triggered by Typhoon Rammasunand worsened by a second typhoon named Chata'an.
Floods have subsided in many parts of Manila but monsoon rains were expected to lash the capital possibly until Tuesday.
