South Asian cyclone toll 200, villagers return home

Cyclone Aila slammed into the coast of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal on Monday, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless after a tidal surge washed away villages, roads and livestock.

At least 131 people were killed and around 6,000 injured in Bangladesh, and 70 more died in India, officials told AFP.

Bangladesh government disaster control spokesman Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman said the worst-hit areas were closest to the Indian border but deaths and damage occurred across 14 districts on the southern coast.

Around 220,000 mud and bamboo houses were washed away while another 300,000 were damaged, he said.