At least 21 people were killed on Wednesday after a powerful storm accompanied by heavy rain caused widespread damage in the Bhadohi, Budaun, Fatehpur and Sonbhadra districts of Uttar Pradesh, officials said.
Officials said at least nine people died in Fatehpur, six in Bhadohi, five in Budaun and one in Sonbhadra district.
In Bhadohi, Additional District Magistrate Kunwar Virendra Kumar Maurya said reports were coming in from several areas about uprooted trees, electricity poles and damaged houses.
He said restoration and rescue operations faced difficulties as mobile networks were disrupted due to the storm.
Maurya said sub-divisional magistrates, tehsildars, other district officials and police personnel were carrying out inspections and relief work across all three tehsils of the district. "So far, we have received information on six deaths, but the number may rise," he said.
The official said the exact number of casualties and injured persons would become clear only after detailed reports are received.
In Fatehpur, nine people were killed and 16 injured in storm-related incidents.
Additional District Magistrate Avinash Tripathi said, "Eight persons, including five women, were killed in Khaga tehsil, in Sadar tehsil, one woman was killed due to a house wall collapse. A total of nine deaths have been reported in storm-related incidents, while 16 people were injured."
In Budaun, five people, including two minor girls, were killed and as many injured in separate incidents caused by a severe dust storm and rain.
In Siddhpur Kaitholi village under Bisoli police station limits, two girls -- Mausami (10) and Rajni (9) -- died after a mud wall of a hut collapsed on them during the storm, police sources said.
The girls, along with two women identified as Kallo and Neha, had taken shelter in the hut after strong winds began.
The wall collapsed during the storm, trapping all four under the debris.
While the two girls died on the spot, the women sustained serious injuries, officials said.
In another incident in Tark Paroli village under the Faizganj Behta police station area, a woman identified as Laxmi (40) died after a tree fell on a tubewell room where several people had taken shelter from the storm.
The roof of the structure collapsed, injuring three others, including a woman named Geeta, whose condition is stated to be critical.
In a separate accident near Bilsi Road in the Bisoli area, truck driver Yogesh (32) died after a eucalyptus tree was uprooted and fell on his vehicle, police said.
Another youth, Anshul Sharma (22), a resident of the Sahukara locality in Bisoli, succumbed to injuries after a tree fell on him during the storm while he was on his way to deliver food to his father, they said.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Rural) Hridesh Kumar Kataria said five people had died in storm-related incidents in the Bisoli and Faizganj Behta police station areas, while around five others were injured.
In Sonbhadra, one person identified as Madhav Singh (38) died after a tree fell on him while he had stopped to take shelter under it.
The incident took place in the Punnuganj police station area, police said.
(With inputs from PTI)
