16 killed in two days amid heavy rains in India

At least 16 people were killed as heavy rains pounded the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand since Sunday, triggering flash floods and landslides that buried houses and washed away bridges in several parts.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who has cancelled all his scheduled events to monitor the situation, said that 16 people have died so far.

Eleven deaths were reported today as seven people died after a house collapsed in Mukteshwar and Khairna areas of Nainital and one person was swept away in Udham Singh Nagar, our New Delhi correspondent reports.

Five deaths were reported on Monday, including three labourers from Nepal who were staying near Lansdowne when they were buried alive by rubble flowing down from a hill.

The two other deaths from Monday came in a house collapse in Champawat district.

Chief Minister Dhami who conducted an aerial survey said three (army) helicopters have been deployed for rescue operations. Crops had also been damaged, he told reporters.

At least 10 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in the state to conduct rescue operations.

Three roads leading to Nainital have been blocked following landslides. The Mall Road in Nainital and Naina Devi temple located along the banks of Naini lake have been flooded. Some 100 people are stuck at a resort on Ramnagar-Ranikhet route.