Freak 'tornado' kills 17 in Argentina, Brazil

---

BUENOS AIRES, Sept 9(AFP): A violent storm described as a freak "tornado" killed at least 17 people in the southern part of South America and punched hundreds of houses off their foundations Tuesday, officials said.
Northern Argentina and southern Brazil, and the small countries of Uruguay and Paraguay wedged between them, were hit by a fierce atmospheric mass packing rain, hail and winds over 120 kilometers (70 miles) per hour.
In north-eastern Argentina, 10 people died, including seven children, authorities said.
More than 50 others were injured, and trees and power lines were toppled in the towns of Santa Rosa, Tobuna and Pozo Azul, said Ricardo Veselka Corrales, head of the local civil defense office.
Witnesses and local media described the storm as a "tornado."
The other seven fatalities occurred in Brazil's southern states of Santa Catarina and Sao Paulo, where flooding and mudslides swept through unstable slums.