Guadeloupe death toll rises

Latest reports are indicating that the death toll in Guadeloupe is rising following widespread flooding in the country.



According to the Caribbean Media Corporation, at least five people have now been killed on the French Caribbean Island.



President Nicolas Sarkozy is due to visit the island this weekend for a previously planned trip.



His spokesman says the president has expressed the government's "solidarity" with the victims' families.



The National weather service Meteo France says up to 20 centimeters or 7.9 inches of rain had been recorded over the past two days.



French television showed images of a sport utility vehicle stranded in deep water in Les Abymes, a town north of the capital Pointe-a-Pitre.



The police say the five bodies had been recovered including the four passengers inside the sport utility vehicle.