25 dead after tornado in China

A tornado and strong winds in southwestern China killed 25 people and injured more than 150 early today, state media reported.

Several homes collapsed in the city of Chongqing, but the number was still being tallied, said the disaster relief director at the Chongqing civil affairs bureau.

The director, who gave only his surname Ma, disputed a China News online report that 1,000 homes had collapsed. "It's definitely not that many," he said.

China Central Television said in its noon broadcast that the death toll had risen to 25. The official Xinhua News Agency said more than 150 were injured.

Telephones at the press office for the Chongqing government rang unanswered at midday, when many government officials are usually away for lunch.

Xinhua said the tornado struck the area around 2am and killed people in the counties of Dianjiang and Liangping.