Russian-installed official puts toll in two flooded towns at 17, one week after Ukraine dam breach

A local resident looks at his flooded building after the Nova Kakhovka dam breached, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the flooded village of Afanasiivka in Kherson region, Ukraine June 12, 2023. REUTERS/Oleksandr Klymenko

(Reuters) - The death toll from flooding in two Russian-controlled towns in southern Ukraine has risen to 17 one week after a massive dam holding back a reservoir was breached, a Russian-installed official said on Tuesday.

Andrei Alekseyenko, chairman of the Russian-installed administration in the Kherson region, said 12 people were confirmed dead in Hola Prystan and five in Oleshky, two small towns downstream from the breached Kakhovka dam.