More than 30 die in India thunderstorm

NEW DELHI - More than 30 people have been killed and many others injured after a thunderstorm, accompanied by rains and gusty winds, hit India late Sunday evening, disaster management officials said.

"In the national capital, two persons were killed after a billboard collapsed due to the thunderstorm. Some 18 people have sustained injuries in Delhi also. In the neighboring cities of Noida and Ghaziabad, two people died due to sudden weather change," an official said.

In the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, at least nine people have been killed and over 34 others injured after a thunderstorm hit the state this evening, the official said.

"Similarly, nine people have died in the eastern state of West Bengal in thunderstorm and lightning that struck several parts before rains came lashing down. Four children were among those killed," he said.

There was no respite for the southern Indian states. "In Andhra Pradesh, eight people died due to a thunderstorm, while three were killed in Telangana. Several disaster management teams have been sent to assess the damage," another official said.

Local TV channels reported that over 40 flights have been diverted at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport due to bad weather.

India had last week put as many as 13 of its states and two central government-territories on high storm alert for 48 hours. And last to last week, more than 125 people had died and over 300 others were injured in fierce dust storms in northern and western Indian states.