17 dead in first days of India’s floods, thousands displaced

PATNA: Seventeen people have died in India’s annual floods, which erupted this week and have already affected some 200,000 people, officials said Thursday. At least seven people including four children drowned Wednesday in the eastern state of Bihar when their boat capsized in the Lailakh river, a police official said. Two children drowned in northeastern Assam state and a man was swept away by gushing waters in adjoining Tripura, officials said. Earlier this week, four people drowned in Bihar and a family of three died in northeastern Mizoram when their hut collapsed. An estimated 150,000 people have been displaced in Assam where at least six of the 23 districts were affected by the first wave of floods, state Flood Control Minister Nurzamal Sarkar told AFP. afp

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