DAR ES SALAAM, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 people, including five pupils, have been killed by ongoing heavy rains in Tanzania's eastern region of Morogoro, a senior police official said on Tuesday.
Wilbroad Mutafungwa, the Morogoro regional commissioner, said the five pupils drowned in a flooded river as they crossed while going home from school.
"Four bodies of the pupils have been recovered," Mutafungwa told a news conference in the Morogoro municipality, situated 200 kilometers west of the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.
Mutafungwa said rescue teams were still searching for the fifth body of a nine-year pupil from the Nyachiro primary school.
He said the other six people were killed by flash floods in different parts of the region.
On Sunday, Solomon Mwangamilo, in charge of Tanga region traffic police, said the ongoing heavy rains have damaged roads and submerged bridges in some parts of the east African country.
The highway connecting the commercial capital Dar es Salaam and upcountry regions to the north was temporarily closed on Saturday after a bridge was submerged in Coast region, said Mwangamilo.
Last week, the Tanzania Meteorological Authority said the country will experience heavy rains that might cause floods leading to disease outbreaks in at least 13 administrative regions.
