Hundreds feared dead in French territory of Mayotte from Cyclone Chido, top official says

The death toll in the French territory of Mayotte from Cyclone Chido is "several hundred" and may run into the thousands, the island's top government official told a local broadcaster Sunday.

France rushed rescue teams and supplies to its largely poor overseas department in the Indian Ocean that has suffered widespread destruction.

"I think there are some several hundred dead, maybe we'll get close to a thousand. Even thousands ... given the violence of this event," Mayotte Prefect François-Xavier Bieuville told TV station Mayotte la 1ere.