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Tropical storm Rumbia kills 6 Filipino children, grandmother

MANILA, July 2 (UPI) -- Six children and a 72-year-old grandmother died in the Philippines when their boat capsized during tropical storm Rumbia, officials said.

Fifteen people were aboard the boat in the South China Sea Monday when rough seas caused it to overturn, Gulf News reported Tuesday.

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One-month-old Hans Christopher Canete, his sister Jenia, 8, and his brother Paulo, 10, were among the dead, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said. Among those rescued was Ariel Canete, 35, though it was not reported how she was related to the Canete children.

Aurea Rico, 72, and her grandchildren Redan, 2, Justin, 4, and Rachelle, 6, also died. Eight-month-old Alexander Rico and April Rico, 28, were rescued, though their relationship to each other was also not reported.

The names of the other five people rescued were not reported.

The storm caused flooding, fallen trees, landslides and whirlwinds, but no other casualties, as it headed toward China, the council said.

Rumbia is the sixth tropical storm to hit China this year and was expected to head toward Guangdong and Hainan provinces Tuesday.

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