NEW DELHI - At least 12 people were killed and around 50 injured after a series of explosions at a chemical factory in the western Indian state of Maharashtra on Saturday, hospital officials and police said.
An official at Shirpur's sub-district hospital in Dhule district said that 12 people had died in the explosion.
"There are around 37 injured admitted here, and we have transferred another 12 patients," D.N. Wagh told Reuters.
The first explosion at the factory took place around 9.30 a.m. (0400 GMT), police officer Sanjay Ahire said. Videos from the incident on local news channels showed thick black smoke billowing out of the factory.
"There was a 200-liter chemical barrel that exploded first, then the fire spread to other parts of the factory and there were more blasts," Ahire said.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
NEW DELHI - The death toll from India's monsoon floods climbed to 202 on Tuesday as heavy rainfall kept pounding coastal regions in the west and south.
Authorities have already moved more than 1.2 million people to relief camps.
The southern tourist hotspot of Kerala, which was hit by its worst floods in almost a century last year leaving 450 dead, was once again bearing the brunt of monsoon downpours.
"The death toll in the state has increased to 88... and there are still at least 40 people missing," Pramod Kumar, Kerala police spokesperson, told AFP.
More than 250,000 people across the state's worst-affected districts including Wayanad, Malappuram, and Kozhikode have been shifted to relief camps.
At least 48 people have also lost their lives in neighboring Karnataka state.
A state government official told AFP that 16 people were still missing in Karnataka but the situation had improved as rains had eased.
"We have rescued around 677,000 people in the last few days and think the water level will start dropping in another 24 to 48 hours," the official said.
Local emergency personnel and troops from the army, navy and air force have been deployed for search, rescue and relief operations.
Indian media have also reported 66 deaths in the western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, with hundreds of thousands rescued from inundated regions.
The monsoon rains are crucial to replenishing water supplies in drought-stricken India, but they kill hundreds of people across the country every year.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
NEW DELHI/BENGALURU - The death toll from floods in the Indian states of Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra rose to 147, state authorities said on Sunday, as rescue teams raced to evacuate people and waters submerged parts of a world heritage site.
Heavy rain and landslides forced hundreds of thousands of people to take shelter in relief camps, while train services were canceled in several flood-hit areas.
In the southern state of Kerala, at least 57 people were killed in rain-related incidents while over 165,000 people were in relief camps in the state, state authorities said on Sunday.
"Several houses are still covered under 10-12 feet deep mud. This is hampering rescue work," state chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.
Authorities worried that rescue operations would be hit by thunderstorms and rainfall predicted in some parts of Kerala.
Last year, more than 200 people were killed in Kerala and over five million affected in one of the worst floods in 100 years in the state.
In Karnataka, several structures at world heritage site Hampi, an ancient town, were flooded.
So far 60 people have died in rain-related incidents, said state chief minister B S Yediyurappa, adding nearly 227,000 people were staying in relief camps.
While Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra have been the worst hit this year, several other states including Gujarat, Assam and Bihar have also seen heavy damage due to floods.
In Maharashtra, where the death toll stood at 30, the flood situation was improving, according to state-run All India Radio, though authorities said it would be difficult to restore rail services in some flood-hit areas within the next two weeks.
India's main opposition Congress party called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide relief packages.
Citing media reports, the Congress party said so far this year 446 people have been killed in six flood-hit states including Assam, Bihar and Gujarat.
"Despite the mammoth loss of lives and displacement caused due to floods, the government is failing to realize the gravity of the flood fury," the Congress party said in a statement on Sunday.
(Reporting by Manoj Kumar in NEW DELHI and Gopakumar Warrier in Bengaluru; Editing by Alexandra Ulmer and Susan Fenton)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
