Cebu: The death toll from Typhoon Kalmaegi in the Philippines hit 46 on Tuesday, officials said, including six crew members of a military helicopter that crashed during the powerful storm that unleashed heavy rains and floods across the central region.

The Huey helicopter went down in Agusan del Sur on the island of Mindanao, where it was conducting a humanitarian disaster response mission, the military said. Six bodies of the crew were recovered, and an investigation was under way.

The crash took place before midday, about 270 kilometres from the island of Cebu, the worst-hit region, where local authorities said 39 people had been killed by drowning or from falling debris. One person was reported dead on the neighbouring island of Bohol.

The Philippines, which is hit by an average of

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