23 Die as Floods Swamp Bangladesh, East India

Flooding caused by a week of monsoon rains has left 23 people dead and forced hundreds of thousands of villagers from their homes across Bangladesh and large parts of eastern India, relief officials said.

The homes of about 300,000 people were flooded in India and half a million people were marooned in Bangladesh, officials said.

Nine children died when they were swept away by flood waters. Three people died in a mudslide; three more drowned when their boat capsized. Eight people became ill from polluted flood waters.