21 die in India rains

Another 21 people died from lightning and house collapses in northern India, an official said Saturday, taking the nation-wide death toll to at least 328 since the monsoon began two months ago. The new casualties were reported in northern Uttar Pradesh state, one of the worst hit by the heavy rains.
"The rains have so far killed 148 people (in Uttar Pradesh) with 21 people dying in house collapses and from lightning in the past 48 hours," police spokesman Manish Awasthi told AFP in state capital Lucknow.
Rains lashed most parts of the state, triggering landslides and house cave-ins. Seven people, including a three-month-old baby, died when two dilapidated houses collapsed on the outskirts of Lucknow.