Nine killed in Uttar Pradesh thunderstorm

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A thunderstorm lashed parts of western Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, killing nine people and injuring four others a week after a freak weather system had battered the region. Four people died in Etawah district, three in Mathura and one in Agra in mishaps related to this evening's thunderstorm, Principal Secretary Information Avanish Awasthi told reporters.

Another death was reported earlier in the evening from Hathras district, where a 15-year-old boy was struck by lightning while returning from the fields in Mohabbatpura village. A hailstorm also struck Hathras in the evening. A tree fell on a house in Agra's Etmadpur area, killing one person, Awasthi said.

Four people were injured as severe winds and rain lashed parts of Etawah district. Strong winds also hit the state capital. Awasthi said the district magistrates have been asked to distribute relief among the storm-hit people immediately or latest by tomorrow morning.

Thunderstorms and lightning on May 2-3 had killed at least 134 people and injured more than 400 in five states, the Home Ministry said on Tuesday. Uttar Pradesh was the hardest hit with 80 deaths, most of them in Agra district. About 100 people were killed then in the state as mud houses collapsed, trees were uprooted and electricity cables snapped.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had faced criticism then for not heading back immediately from the Karnataka election campaign, as news of the casualties poured in from his own state.

Since the May 2-3 thunderstorm, the India Meteorological Department had issued more bad weather alerts for northern India states.

Parts of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Delhi experienced rain and strong winds on Tuesday.

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