68 dead in Philippines, 3 missing in Vietnam after storm

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HANOI, July 18 (AFP) - Three people were missing in Vietnam as tropical storm Conson hit the country, officials said Sunday, after leaving 68 dead in the Philippines when it roared in as a typhoon.
A woman went missing in the north of Vietnam and two fishermen disappeared in waters off the impoverished central provinces, an official in Hanoi from the national committee to fight storms and flooding said.
Conson swept onto the shores of Vietnam late Saturday and was downgraded to a tropical depression, the official said.
"It continues to cause rainfall in parts of northern and central regions. We have not yet been able to calculate the amount of damage," he said, but added the storm "has destroyed basic infrastructure, especially water works".
Thousands of Vietnamese soldiers have been mobilised to help people living in areas affected by Conson and about 30,000 people were evacuated before the storm blew in.
Conson slammed into the Philippines on Tuesday, directly hitting the capital Manila as it cut westward into the South China Sea with a ferocity that caught weather forecasters by surprise.
Rescuers retrieved three more bodies from the sea Sunday, raising the death toll to 68 in the Philippines, but more bad weather was hampering search operations.