At least 40 people were killed and several injured on Sunday when dust storms and thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds wreaked havoc in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and the national capital.
In Uttar Pradesh the storm took the heaviest death toll, claiming 18 lives and leaving 25 injured.
West Bengal took a battering from a thunderstorm that killed 12 people, including four children, while lightning claimed nine lives in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
A squall and dust storm with a wind speed of up to 109 kmph battered Delhi and neighbouring areas, killing two persons and injuring 19 others, and throwing flight, rail and metro operations out of gear.
At Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, more than 180 flights were affected as the storm forced operations to be suspended.
As many as 62 flights, including at least four international ones, were diverted to nearby airports. Nearly 114 domestic and nine international flights were delayed. Four flights were cancelled.
( With PTI inputs)
