Rescuers recovered the bodies of nine people who were swept away by flash floods in the northwestern province of Lao Cai Thursday. Two other missing people were feared dead.

The rescuers are still searching for the missing.

Twelve people were also injured when flash floods slammed into a rural village in Ban Khoang Commune, Sa Pa District at around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

A three-year-old child was among the dead victims.

Nguyen Chinh Cuong, a spokesman for the provincial Committee of Floods Prevention and Control, denied allegations that a local hydropower dam may have broken and caused the floods.

He said torrential rains over the last few days combined with landslides were the main reason.

The floods sent a huge amount of rocks and soil from a mountain to the village, he said.

As many as 200 police officers, soldiers and local residents were mobilized to join the rescue.