The flash floods, triggerred by cyclone Gonu, wreaked havoc in southeastern Iran claiming seven lives and leaving 40,000 others trapped, according to news reports.

'Three people were killed in Hormozgan (province) and four died in Sistan-Baluchestan,' an Iranian official in charge of natural disasters was today (June 9) quoted as saying by the semi official Mehr news agency.

Local media had already reported the death of two when the cyclone hit Iran late Wednesday after first ripping through the Sultanate of Oman. It is not known whether they are included in the latest toll.

The Fars news agency, meanwhile, quoted another official as saying that a total of '40,000 villagers are trapped by water in Hormozgan province.'

Helicopters have been dispatched to the affected areas, the official said.

According to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Air Force, 40 tonnes of food has been despatched to the crisis-hit port city of Chabahar in Sistan-Baluchestan province.

Cyclone Gonu has left at least 49 people dead and another 27 missing in Oman.