UP thunderstorm: Toll rises to 16 dead, 27 injured

Lucknow: The thunderstorm that hit parts of Uttar Pradesh last night has claimed 16 lives and left 27 others injured, an official said today.

“Four deaths were reported from Etawah, three each from Mathura and Aligarh, two each in Firozabad and Agra and one death each in Hathras and Kanpur Dehat last night,” an official spokesperson said.

He said 37 head of cattle also perished in the calamity which affected nine districts, mostly in western Uttar Pradesh that had borne the brunt of the previous storm on May 2-3. The earlier storm had killed at least 134 people and injured more than 400 in five states, the Home Ministry had said. Uttar Pradesh was the hardest hit with 80 deaths, most of them in Agra district.

The official said seven houses were damaged in last nights storm. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today issued fresh directives to the administration to speed up relief operations.

An official release said he asked the ministers-in-charge and district magistrates to visit the affected districts. He said the assessment of the damage should be done immediately and repair work must begin at the earliest.