Flash flood kills at least 21 in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan – A flash flood swept through a village in northern Afghanistan, killing 21 people, many of them members of a wedding party, officials said Monday.

People in Dhy Marda village in Sari Pul province were gathered for the celebration late Sunday when heavy rains caused floodwaters to rush down the mountains, said Sayed Jahangir Kramat, the deputy police chief for the province.

He said the 21 dead included men, women and children. He said four people were missing, rejecting reports that as many as 80 people could not be found.

"I am at the site, and have been talking to the people and these reports are not true," he said.

He said 45 homes were destroyed and another 150 were damaged.

President Hamid Karzai expressed his sympathy for the victims and their families, and he called on officials to do all they could to help those affected.

The president's office said floods overnight in two other districts in the province killed three people.