Torrential rain claims 17 lives in India

At least 17 people have died and over 100 others washed away in flash floods triggered by heavy showers in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, officials said Saturday.

The worst affected are Kadapa district and the temple town of Tirupati.

"Of the 17 deceased, eight were killed in  Kadapa after two state-run buses were swept away in the gushing waters when the Annamayya dam breached Friday," a senior disaster management official said.

"Though 20 passengers were rescued after a day-long operation, some 50 others are still missing. The rescue operations are on," the official told the media.

Local TV channels beamed footage of hundreds of pilgrims stranded in floods in the temple town of Tirupati. Similarly, in Chittoor district, at least four people were killed in flash floods.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has carrying out relief and rescue operations in collaboration with the local police since Friday afternoon. Choppers have been pressed into action in the most-affected areas, officials said.

Last month, as many as 23 people were killed in flash floods and landslides caused by heavy post-monsoon showers in the northern state of Uttarakhand.

Uttarakhand and the southern states of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh have been witnessing the heaviest post-monsoon showers this year. In Kerala, at least 28 people died in October.