Powerful cyclone lashes Oman, Yemen; 5 dead, 30 missing

Cyclone Mekunu blew into the Arabian Peninsula early on Saturday, drenching arid Oman and Yemen, cutting off power lines and leaving at least five people dead and more than 30 missing, officials said.

Portions of Salalah, Oman's third-largest city, lost electricity as the cyclone made landfall. The Arabian Sea churned Saturday morning, sending mounds of sea foam into the air.

The waves ate into one tourist beach, pulling hunks of it away and toppling thatch umbrellas cemented into the sand.

Three people, including a 12-year-old girl, died in Oman, and another two bodies were recovered from the Yemeni island of Socotra, which bore the brunt of the storm, according to local officials in both countries.

More than 30 people were still missing in Socotra, including Yemeni, Indian and Sudanese nationals.

Yemeni officials also reported damage in the country's far east, along the border with Oman. Rageh Bakrit, the governor of al-Mahra province, said on his official Twitter account late Friday that strong winds had blown down houses and taken out communication lines and water services.

He did not say whether there were any casualties.