Race against time for Mayotte rescuers after cyclone

Saint Denis de la Reunion: Rescuers raced against time Monday to reach survivors after a powerful cyclone hit the French Indian Ocean territory of May...

Saint-Denis de la Reunion: Rescuers raced against time Monday to reach survivors after a powerful cyclone hit the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, laying to waste the territory's many shantytowns, with hundreds feared dead.

Cyclone Chido caused major damage to Mayotte's airport and cut off electricity, water and communication links when it barrelled down on France's poorest territory on Saturday.

Asked about the eventual death toll, Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville told broadcaster Mayotte la Premiere "I think there will definitely be several hundred, perhaps we will come close to a thousand or even several thousand".

The mayor of Mayotte's capital Mamoudzou, Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, told AFP the storm "spared nothing".

"The hospital is hit, the schools are hit. Houses are totally devastated," he said.