SEVERE WEATHER - POWERFUL DUST & THUNDERSTORMS STORMS KILLS UP TO 70 PEOPLE IN INDIA
People trying to shelter from a dust storm in New Delhi over the weekend REUTERS
At least 70 people have been killed in severe sandstorms & thunderstorms in India. Winds of up to 112km/hr has left a path of destruction over a large area uprooting trees, demolishing houses.
At least 42 people were killed in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh state, said government spokesman Avnish Awasthi.
The storms also caused massive delays at airports with flights grounded and train services canceled across northern, eastern and southern states of India, including the capital, New Delhi, on Sunday evening.
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Further storms are expected today across most parts of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh with fears of the death toll rising.
This is the start of the rain and storm season in the country but storm of this severity and to cost so much human life is unusual for India.
A further eight people were killed when a mosque's minaret fell on a group of people in the town of Bareilly as they took shelter in the courtyard.
34 people were killed and 47 injured when thunderstorms swept Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, displacing hundreds of people, Sanjay Kumar, relief commissioner for the state, told Reuters by telephone from Lucknow. Sanjay Kumar also fears that the figures could rise over the coming days in this unusual spell of weather.
At least 11 people, including five children, were killed in the eastern state of West Bengal.
This severe weather comes after 78 people lost there lifes near the start of May when rain and hail storms hit northern and western India.
FOOTAGE SHOWING THE SEVERE DUST AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER INDIA THIS WEEKEND BELOW