26 People Killed In Early Monsoon

[Shola Sholaz]

NEW DELHI (AFP) – Heavy rains lashed parts of north India Monday, resulting in the deaths of at least 26 people, as the annual monsoon covered the country nearly two weeks ahead of schedule, officials said.
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Surprise showers struck the capital New Delhi over the weekend, flooding the arrival halls in the international and domestic airports and leading to traffic jams in some parts of the city.
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More than two dozen people lost their lives due to record downpours in Uttarakhand state, situated in the foothills of the Himalayas, a local official said.
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"Twenty-six people have died and more than 50 persons are missing, due to flooding, landslides and building collapses caused by heavy rain," Piyush Rautela, director of Uttarakhand's disaster management centre, said.
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Three members of a single family, including a boy died when their house collapsed, crushing them in the state capital Dehradun, Rautela told AFP.