The worst affected district in the state was Kurnool where 21 people died, state Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy told reporters before leaving for an aerial survey of the affected areas.

The other deaths took place in Prakasham, Guntur and Krishna districts, Reddy said.

Most people were killed when flash floods destroyed homes and swept them away, he added.

The meteorological office in state capital Hyderabad said heavy rain which began Friday was expected to continue across the state for the next two days.

Parts of Nandyal town in Kurnool district, 175 miles south of Hyderabad, were submerged in up to four feet of water. Nearly 100 school children were stranded on the roof of their school building, Reddy said.

More than 20,000 people in the rain-ravaged areas have been moved to over 50 relief camps, he added.

Meanwhile, twelve members of a wedding party were among 31 feared drowned overnight in two separate boat accidents in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Saturday.

"Two passenger boats sank killing 31 people in two different incidents," Anupam Shashank, a senior government official told the Associated Press from the state capital Lucknow. He said only five bodies had been recovered.

In the first incident, 19 people drowned when an overcrowded boat carrying 25 people sank midstream in the Yamuna river in Kaushambhi district, 25km southeast of Lucknow.

Six people swam to safety but the others drowned, Shashank said.

In the second incident a boat carrying 17 members of a wedding party sank in the Ganges river near Mirzapur, 320km southeast of Lucknow.

"Twelve people are feared dead and five swam to safety," said Deputy Inspector General SN Sabat. "Initial reports suggest that the boat was overloaded. Besides people, it was carrying marriage gifts, including a motorcycle and a double bed."

The bride and groom survived as they were travelling in another boat, he said.