ELEVEN people from one family died in Panama yesterday when their home was swept away in a flash flood as they slept, said officials.

Nine are children, said Carlos Rumbo, head of the national civil protection service.

Two other people are missing following the sudden rise of the Bejuco River in Veraguas province west of Panama City.

President Laurentino Cortizo conveyed his condolences on Twitter.

The civil protection service earlier yesterday warned of heavy storms with lightning and gusting winds in much of the Central American country. – AFP, August 10, 2020.