Fish In Hospital As Rains Kill 80 In North India

Dirty water with fish squirming around flooded a hospital in northeast India after monsoon rain and at least 80 people died within days in one state in weather-related accidents, officials said today.



Patients sat gingerly with their feet up at the Nalanda Medical College hospital in Bihar state when water gushed into the intensive care unit, highlighting the annual havoc the monsoon wreaks on the country´s creaking infrastructure.

"A portion of the ground floor was flooded yesterday (Sunday) after a pipe choked amid heavy rains, causing waterlogging," Sitaram Prasad, principal of the college-cum-hospital, told AFP.

Tens of thousands of buildings and homes across India regularly flood during the monsoon months of June to September, which bring death and destruction.

Neighbouring states are also on alert, with authorities evacuating 3,000 residents from areas near the River Yamuna, which is flowing above the danger level in the capital New Delhi.