Dozens of fishermen were missing today after rainstorms lashed coastal Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal and killed at least 24 people.

The coastguard and fellow fishermen were searching for those missing since the storms hit early yesterday, local government officials said.

Seven bodies recovered overnight raised the toll to 24 dead in the Bhola, Hatia and Chittagong districts of southern Bangladesh.

The storms swept through hundreds of villages and destroyed several thousand mud and straw huts, leaving many people homeless, the officials said.

About 100 people were injured in the region, which is about 135 miles south of the capital Dhaka.

Relief workers handed out rice, drinking water and cookies to displaced people, the officials said.

Communications were disrupted, and workers were trying to remove fallen trees and electricity poles that were blocking roads.