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Cyclone kills more than 165 people

CALCUTTA, India, May 26 (UPI) -- Cyclone Aila's swath of destruction in Bangladesh and India left scores of humans and about a dozen endangered Royal Bengal tigers dead.

The Bangladesh Daily Star reported Wednesday the storm, spawned in the Bay of Bengal, killed at least 121 people in Bangladesh after making landfall Monday. The official death count was 91, the newspaper reported.

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In neighboring India, more than 45 died in the storm, mostly in West Bengal state, Indian media reported.

The Times of India quoted forest range officials at the state's Sunderbans as saying a dozen of the famed tigers among a population of 265 there, along with hundreds of herbivores, may have been swept away by the huge waves. At least 20 crocodiles and two spotted deer were found dead, the Times said.

In Bangladesh, thousands of people in the coastal areas were left with little food and drinking water while cut off from rest of the country, the Star reported. Heavy rains accompanying the cyclone destroyed standing crops and washed away several fisheries.

The government said more than 800 people had been injured. The storm had killed more than 58,000 domestic animals.

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Officials said the Bangladesh government had no plans to ask for international help, the Star said.

The Red Crescent Society estimated about 3.3 million people had been affected by the cyclone, reports said.

Bangladesh Disaster Management Minister Abdur Razzak told the BBC relief teams were trying to reach the worst-hit areas where the death toll could rise.

In India, the Calcutta Telegraph reported Wednesday Aila had weakened into a low pressure formation north of the state. But at the height of its fury, it killed dozens and left tens of thousands homeless.

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