Heavy rains kill two in Bulgaria, houses damaged

SOFIA, May 22 (Reuters) Heavy rains and strong winds across Bulgaria killed two people and demolished houses and roads, civil defence officials said today.

A father and his child fell in a swollen dam yesterday after their car slipped on the muddy road near the southern town of Kardzhali.

Stormy winds demolished the roofs of over 70 houses in a village near the centre southern town of Plovdiv and over 20 houses, roads and bridges in villages near the capital Sofia were flooded, the civil defence said.

The pouring rains will help the Balkan country's wheat crop which farmers feared might be halved to 1.5 million tonnes because of the unusually dry weather in April and early May.

Weather forecasters expect rain showers to ease by the end of the week.

REUTERS SS KN1448