Close to 1,000 feared dead after Cyclone Chido hits Mayotte

Sky News - Close to 1,000 people may have been killed after Cyclone Chido hit Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, according to the island's top official.

Mayotte Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville told local TV: "I think there are some several hundred dead, maybe we'll get close to a thousand, even thousands... given the violence of this event."

However, he said it was currently "extremely difficult" to get an exact number.

Emergency workers sent from France and the nearby French territory of Reunion are racing to find survivors and restore services due to the worst cyclone to hit the island in nearly a century.

France is using ships and military aircraft as part of its response.

French civil security spokesperson Alexandre Jouassard told the France 2 news channel: "The next minutes and hours are very important.

"We are used to working in these conditions, and a few days after, you have pockets of survivors."

Chido caused extensive damage on Saturday, with the nearby islands of Comoros and Madagascar also affected, and the cyclone has now hit Mozambique.

Forecaster Meteo-France said Chido was the strongest storm to hit the islands in more than 90 years.

Winds of more than 124mph (200kmh) ripped roofs off houses and destroyed numerous buildings.

Mayotte is an impoverished overseas department of France and is spread over two main islands about 500 miles (805km) off Africa's east coast.

President Emmanuel Macron said: "My thoughts are with our compatriots in Mayotte, who have gone through the most horrific few hours, and who have, for some, lost everything, lost their lives."

Mr Macron is due to hold an emergency meeting about the crisis at around 6pm local time.

It comes as the main airport and hospital suffered major damage in the cyclone, said new prime minister Francois Bayrou.

He said many people living in precarious shacks in slum areas had been at serious risk from the cyclone.

Video from the French gendarmerie showed the wreckage of hundreds of makeshift houses littered across hills.

Mohamed Ishmael, who lives in Mayotte's capital Mamoudzou, told Reuters news agency: "Honestly, what we are experiencing is a tragedy, you feel like you are in the aftermath of a nuclear war… I saw an entire neighbourhood disappear."

One hospital in Mayotte reported nine people were in a critical condition and another 246 were injured.

However, France's interior ministry said it was proving difficult to get a precise tally of casualties.

Meanwhile, the cyclone has largely knocked out internet access on the island which has been "almost entirely offline for over 36 hours", according to NetBlocks.

The internet monitor added that connectivity is at around "16% of ordinary levels".

The ministry said 1,600 police and gendarmerie officers had been sent to help local rescuers and firefighters from Mayotte and nearby Reunion.

Supplies were also being rushed in on military aircraft and ships.