At least 26 killed in rain-related incidents in India

At least 26 people were killed in rain-related mishaps in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in the last 48 hours, officials said on Saturday.

According to state officials, the casualties occurred as a result of building collapse, lightning strikes, and drowning reported from different parts of Uttar Pradesh affected severely by torrential rains.

“In the last 24-48 hours, 26 people have died in rain/lightning-related incidents across the state," relief commissioner Prabhu N Singh said. "We have sent an alert to all district magistrates. The immediate rescue and relief operation is the top priority, and teams are hard at work on it.”

Read more: India's monsoon to start its retreat in next two days

Rainfall also lashed other regions of northern India, including the national capital New Delhi, causing life to grind to a halt due to severe waterlogging and snarled-up traffic.

The authorities have ordered the closure of schools on Friday in the cities of Noida and Gurugram on the outskirts of the capital.

Mahesh Palawat, the chief meteorologist of Skymet Weather Services, told Anadolu Agency that the current rainfall is the final phase of monsoon rains across northern India.

"The northern parts of India have been experiencing intermittent rainfall for the last three days, which has also resulted in waterlogging at some places," he said, adding that the intensity of the rainfall will decrease on Sunday and the current weather trend will end on Monday.